Harry Potter and the Path of Destiny
by PhoenixPhlame
Summary: AU: PostOOTP. The powers that be decide to release Harry's full magical potential early, but is Harry strong enough to handle so much power at such a young age? Find out what “the power the Dark Lord knows not” is, and how it helps Harry keep his soul.
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters from the Harry Potter series of books are not my characters, I just borrowed them for the purposes of this story. I don't plan to make any money with this story, and I don't want to print it either, except for personal backup purposes. The other characters however are mine, and I'll do with them as I please. Although I'm going to do that with JK's characters too I guess, but yeah, don't sue me.)

(A/N: Tanas is pronounced _tay-nass, _Saera is pronouned as_ seer-a._ Sorry but I hate it when I don't know how the hell to pronounce character names? Especially when it's a good story! Not that I'm saying mine will be, just, well, yeah. Whatever. On with the story!)

Chapter 1

Harry Potter lay staring up at the familiar cracks in the ceiling of his bedroom at number 4, Privet Drive, trying in vain to stave off the headache that had slowly been building since that morning. His Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had taken his rather obese cousin to an amusement park, to reward him for losing 20lb, which wasn't any big deal in Harry's opinion, as Dudley still had to turn sideways to get through doors. This suited Harry just fine though, he wasn't jealous anymore._ In fact,_ he thought, _this is the quietest it's been since i got back to this hell hole. It wouldn't be so bad if it was always like this. Although, I wouldn't lock myself in my room._

Harry wanted out of his bedroom. According to his calendar, he'd been locked in his room for about 8 days now. His Aunt usually let him out twice a day to go to the bathroom, and the rather pathetic meals that were shoved roughly through the cat flap in the door three times a day were barely enough to sustain Harry, after all the rich Hogwarts food he'd gotten used to again. His last meal had consisted of a glass of smelly milk, two burnt slices of toast, a lump of charcoal that Harry guessed was supposed to be bacon, and a fried egg that was burnt on the underside. Needless to say, Harry felt quite ill after consuming that meal. It wasn't as if he had a choice though.

Lack of edible food wasn't what was concerning Harry at the moment though, in fact, in his list of priorities, getting some decent food inside him was quite far down.

Harry leaned over the side of his bed and used Sirius' old broken knife to prise up the floorboard that covered his secret stash, where all of his most prized possessions were kept out of the Dursleys sight. This is where his invisibility cloak, the photo album of his parents that Hagrid gave him in his first year, any cakes and pies from Mrs Weasley, and letters from his friends were kept. There were a few other trinkets in there too, but Harry scanned the contents of his hiding space until his eyes rested on a letter that was addressed in a different handwriting than any of the others. This letter was also quite fabric-like, from the amount of times it had been unfolded, folded, smoothed out, crumpled up, and as Harry yet again unfolded his letter, it could be seen that there was even a small tear where one of the major creases had finally given way.

It wasn't the messy scrawl of Ron's handwriting, or even the neat script of Hermione's hand, but instead a series of loops, angles, squiggles and curves, that fit together to form the handwriting of a certain individual that Harry had come to respect greatly in his time as a prisoner of the Dursleys.

_Dear Harry,_

_Everyone here keeps saying how I should give you more time to settle in, but I don't care what they say! I know that if I had to put up with those awful muggles, I'd be glad of a letter! So I decided to write to you. That's not the only reason though! you don't get off that easily._

_Before I say anything else, I must tell you not to throw this letter away without reading it, i've spent hours thinking of what to put on this stupid piece of parchment, and the least you can do is read it all the way through! That's if you even open the envelope... but assuming you've managed to get the envelope open, and opened this letter, and wont throw it away, I can get started with the juicy stuff!_

_Don't you EVER blame yourself for what happened to Sirius! It wasn't your fault, none of it was! You had very good reason to believe that Sirius was in danger and you did what anyone would do for someone they loved. Sirius also did what anyone would do for someone they loved, he heard that YOU were in danger and wanted to come save you. He died protecting you, just as you would have died to protect him! That's the way he'd have wanted it to be. Of course he didn't want to die in the first place, but if he had a choice don't you think he would have chosen to die in battle, protecting you? Can you Siriusly think of any other way he'd rather have died? The more you think about him, the more he is in your heart, the more he will protect you. I know about Tom possessing you (extendables) and i know that it was your emotions that saved you! Sirius saved you. Even though he died, his spirit lived on inside you and he protected you. He's not gone until you forget about him, and I know you. That will never happen._

_When you saved me... if you had died, would you want me to blame myself? I already know the answer, and it's NO. Well don't do the same now! Sirius would want you to remember the good times. _

_Talking about good times... I have a proposal to share with you from Gred and Forge. They have told me that if I promise to use them in the most creative way possible, They'll give me a bumper box of their gags for when we're back at Hogwarts! I know it sounds silly, but I was thinking of how I could use them, and I thought of you. Well, more specifically i thought of Sirius. I miss him too, we all do... and I thought that if you wanted to help me with these pranks, it would give him a good send off. Sirius loved pranks, so what better way to say "see you later!" than to turn all the Slytherins orange for a week? _

_You'll know when it gets less painful. The day you can open my letter, and smile at my blatant hidden "Siriusly" is the day you can turn around and say that you accept that he's dead. It's also the day where you will be able to laugh at Sirius more like you used to, instead of it hurting every time you think about him. He wouldn't want you to hurt because of him Harry, and just remember that you have lots of friends to help you through this, and I swear on the bumper box I'll be there for you whenever you need me._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Harry once again stared at the letter, reading it over in his mind as he contemplated what Ginny had said, and to Harry's surprise, he snorted at the blatantly hidden "Siriusly". He quickly sobered again, when he realised what it meant. He couldn't be over Sirius' death already? Shouldn't he be mourning for months, barely consolable? Stumbling around, constantly remembering the look of surprise on his godfather's face as he fell backwards through the veil? Harry's eyes rested on the last paragraph, as yet again in his mind, another piece of the puzzle worked itself out and he realised that he was no longer angry at any part of Ginny's letter. It was as if, since he'd received the letter, each day a new part of himself was released from the feelings of anger and bitterness he'd been trapped in since his godfather died. He felt refreshed, lighter, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. _She's right,_ he thought. _Sirius wouldn't want me to be miserable all the time. In fact, he'd be sitting there asking me what was wrong with me, and he'd be telling me to write her back and accept the pranking offer, before she gets fed up of waiting and asks someone else._

"Harry!"

Harry spun round on his bed, searching the room for the voice he swore he'd just heard, but there was nothing.

"Hello?" he said quietly, not wanting to appear insane by shouting. There was no reply. Harry looked around his room once more, listening for any sound that would indicate another presence. His eyes settled on Dudley's old wardrobe, the only hiding place he could think of that anyone could fit inside. Cautiously, he moved towards his wardrobe, silent as a mouse and still listening out for any strange noises. As he got closer to the wardrobe, Harry's hand began to shake as he reached out towards the door handle, and he mentally counted down from three...

Harry flung the wardrobe door open, then threw himself across his room, and peeked out from the other side of his bed to find... nothing. There was nothing inside his wardrobe except a few oversized hand-me-downs his Aunt Petunia had given him last year that didn't fit Harry yet. Puzzled, Harry stood up from his hiding spot, turned slowly on his heels, searching the room for a presence that was not his own. No matter how hard he looked, there was nothing except Hedwig, who was perched on Harry's bed, preening herself.

More confused than ever, Harry stepped over to his window, and looked down into the perfect gardens of Privet Drive to see if he could spot anyone that might have been directly under his window, but even as he did it he knew it was no use. Whatever he'd heard had been in the same room as him, he was sure of it.

Resigned to the fact that he must have imagined the voice, Harry returned to Dudley's old broken desk, still carrying his letter from Ginny, and set himself the task of replying to her. There was no way Harry was going to let Ginny know just how much her letter had helped, that would just be too embarrassing...

The first time Harry had read Ginny's letter, he had been so angry he had almost torn it up, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it at the time, after all, she'd meant well. He'd settled for crumpling it up into a small ball, and kicking it across his room, from where he'd rescued it a few hours later when he'd calmed down a bit. He thought back to that day, and how angry and bitter he had been, and how well he was doing at keeping his emotions under check since then. _Snape would be_ _proud, _he thought to himself, and then snorted again as he imagined the look on Snape's face if the son of his worst enemy actually managed to learn occlumency on his own. The more he thought about the idea, the more it appealed to him...

Harry sat down at the broken desk, and pulled two sheets of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a quill in front of himself. _First, I'll send a letter to Hermione asking her to send me some good books on occlumency, that should scare her a bit. I'll write Ginny's afterwards._

_Dear Hermione,_

_I've been thinking I probably should have tried harder last year to learn occlumency, and I was wondering if you happen to know any good books on the subject? Nothing complicated yet, maybe just a book giving me some hints and tips, Snape didn't really tell me how to do it to be honest, he pretty much just broke into my mind and expected me to defend myself. I know it's no excuse, I could have looked up some books in the library, but then I figured he's a teacher, he's supposed to teach me. I've decided I still need to learn occlumency though._

_Sorry for being so angry all the time last year, I know it wont get me anywhere now. I want to make sure I'm ready this year. Ron wont like me studying a lot, but maybe he'll study more too._

_Thanks,_

_Harry_

Once Harry finished checking over his letter to Hermione, he set out the other piece of parchment, and wrote _Dear Ginny_ at the top of the page, and tried to decide what to reply to her. It was then that Harry realised that he really didn't know Ginny very well, and she had only really started taking to him properly earlier in the last school year. All Harry knew about her was that she was near the top of her year, and that she was good at the spells learned in the DA. _Although,_ he thought to himself, _she has to be pretty Gryffindor if she was willing to come help save Sirius._

_Dear Ginny,_

_Thanks for the letter you sent, but most of all, thanks for coming with me to the Ministry. As you now know, without you guys there, I probably would have been taken by Death Eaters, instead of being stuck with these muggles. I'll take the muggles any day! Your letter helped sort a couple of things out in my head, there's a lot more clouds still in there but i think time is the only thing that will help with that. I think the pranking idea is brilliant, I'd love to help you, although after Gred and Forge's exit last year it's going to be difficult to top them! We can try though. School was much more fun when we had their pranks to look forward to._

_I'm doing better now, really I am, and I think you're right. Sirius is with me whenever i see something and think of him, and that will never change. He said something similar to me in my 3rd year about my parents always being there, inside me, so I know he'd approve of what you've said._

_How is your ankle? I hope it's all better now. Have you gotten far on your homework?_

_Love,_

_Harry_

_Well, _Harry thought,_ That seems alright, and she did put "Love Ginny" on hers..._ and with that, Harry folded up the two letters, addressed them to his friends, and approached Hedwig, who was just finishing off preening herself.

"Hedwig, I need you to take these two letters, if you don't mind?"

Hedwig shot Harry a nasty glare, and pointedly stared at the perfectly arranged feathers she'd spent so long fixing, then reluctantly held out her leg with a look that plainly said, "you owe me something nice". Harry tied the letters to Hedwig's leg and gave her a piece of Pumpkin Pasty that was left over from that morning when he'd raided the stash of pies under his floorboard. Hedwig looked at lot happier when she'd finished eating, and gave Harry an affectionate nip on the finger before spreading her wings and taking off through the open window.

"Thanks Hedwig!"

Harry then resumed his earlier position on the bed, staring up at the many cracks in his ceiling, thinking of what to do next before the Dursleys got home. He was glad he'd replied to Ginny, and at least he'd asked for help with the occlumency... but there had to be something more he could do... and to Harry's dismay, he found that although he had dealt with his emotions regarding Sirius, he was still left with the empty hollow feeling he got when he thought of the prophecy, and that his life must include, or end in murder.

_Well at least it's not a question of whether or not I should do it,_ Harry thought. _It's pretty clear what I'm expected to do, it's just a matter of whether or not I'm good enough when the time comes. _Harry jumped out of bed, ran to his trunk and started searching for any and all of his schoolbooks, and put them in a pile stacked next to his bed. _Well, if I'm going to survive, then I'm going to have to learn a lot, and where better to start than my old schoolbooks? _With a sigh of dismay, Harry noticed that the book at the top of the stack was Potions, and he grabbed the book, flopped onto his bed, and settled down for a few hours of reading.

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It wasn't long before the sun began to set, and the beams of light streaming through Harry's open window revealed a too-thin teenage boy, lying on his bed, with an open book on his chest, snoring quietly as his head lolled to the side... and standing near the foot of his bed, there was another, more transparent figure, watching said boy, with a small smile on her face. Suddenly she turned.

"He is not ready, he wont understand!" she whispered furiously to thin air. "You'll destroy him, he'll destroy himself!"

The transparent girl looked sadly towards the boy in the bed, and then around the room as if looking for something.

"Tanas!" She whispered, "Tanas! I know you can hear me, don't ignore my warnings! He will not be ready! You only have the one chance to do this right... you _must _wait!"

"Saera, you underestimate the boy... and you underestimate us. What we are waiting for has already begun to happen, and trust me, when the time comes, he will be ready."

An old man stepped out of the shadows, and into the path of the setting sun. Like the girl, he too was transparent, but even though he looked to be no more than a common ghost, there was an aura of power that flowed around the man, almost as if the objects around him were changed merely by his presence.

"Tanas, there's only a couple of weeks left! There's no way he will meet the requirements in time!"

"Ah Saera... you forget what it is to be young, these things move much faster than many people would like to believe... and even as he sleeps, his mind is thinking of the possibilities!" Tanas said with a grin that spread across his face.

"You're not cheating are you? Sending him dreams? You more than anyone should know that's not allowed!"

"Yes Saera, although don't you think I also, more than anyone, deserve to break my own rules once in a while? For the greater good of all beings, of course!"

"Well, when you think of it that way..." Saera trailed off, and looked back to the boy on the bed.

"Please Tanas... just promise me... Will he be ready? I've grown quite fond of him." she said.

"Yes. He has to be."

With those words, the old man waved his hand in a diagonal sweep in front of him, and there seemed to be a door appearing out of thin air in front of him.

"Are you coming, Saera?" asked Tanas.

"No. I'd like to stay with him." Saera replied.

"In that case, I must warn you. Don't attempt to contact him again, he must not know about you. You know it's against the rules." and with a small smile, and a short wave, the old man stepped through the portal he'd just created, and was no more.

"I'm sorry Harry, but you're on your own with this one. I hope you find your way." and with that, the transparent girl conjured a chair that was just as transparent as she was, sat down with her eyes still watching Harry, and as the last of the sun's rays disappeared below the rooftops of the houses across the street, the girl faded until there was nothing to suggest she'd ever been there.

Meanwhile, on the bed, Harry shifted himself into a more comfortable position, and didn't even stir as the book he had been reading slid to the floor with a loud _thunk_.


	2. Chapter 2

(Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters from the Harry Potter series of books are not my characters, I just borrowed them for the purposes of this story. I don't plan to make any money with this story, and I don't want to print it either, except for personal backup purposes. The other characters however are mine, and I'll do with them as I please. Although I'm going to do that with JK's characters too I guess, but yeah, don't sue me.)

Chapter 2

Harry woke up feeling rested the next morning to find that Hedwig hadn't yet returned from her long flight delivering his letters to Hermione's house and The Burrow, and as he looked out of his window he saw that the Dursley's car was back on the driveway, which meant they must have returned sometime after he'd fallen alseep. _Ah well,_ thought Harry,_ at least I got one day of peace. _Harry walked round the side of his bed and picked up his potions text from where it had fallen the night before, and sat down on his bed to do some more reading. He quickly found the page he last remembered, and no sooner than he had stopped flicking the pages, he heard the tell-tale signs of the Dursleys waking up to start the day.

_I hope they let me out before Dudley uses all the hot water this time,_ thought Harry miserably. He'd much rather be back at Hogwarts, sharing with four other teenage boys, than stuck with the Dursleys, who didn't care if he was left with cold water. Harry stayed on his bed reading his potions book until he heard the locks on his door being undone, and then he quickly hid his book under his mattress and stood beside the door waiting for the last bolt to be drawn back. Harry's Aunt Petunia poked her head round the door, and wrinkled her nose.

"Boy! Get out here and use the bathroom! Have a shower too while you're at it, your room stinks,I expect that to be sorted, you hear?" She snarled at him.

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry replied.

"Five minutes in that shower, understand? I want you downstairs ready to work in 10 minutes!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia."

With a sigh, Harry got his shower things ready, then walked down the hall to the bathroom. He spent as long as he dared under the freezing water, which sent cold shivers where the spray touched his skin, and he was downstairs in the required ten minutes, his hair dripping cold water down his back. Harry's Uncle Vernon was sitting at the dining table reading his morning newspaper, and drinking his morning coffee. Dudley was sitting in front of the television, laughing stupidly at some cartoon character Harry couldn't recall, and stuffing his face with a doughnut.

"Boy, get in that kitchen and make me some bacon. Do a couple of eggs and some toast while you're at it, and hurry up! I haven't got all day!"

"Yes Uncle Vernon"

"Once you've managed that boy, you can go out in the garden and pull up all those weeds! Don't want the neighbours seeing that now do we?"

"Of course not, Uncle Vernon," said Harry, and he shot a glare at the back of his Uncle's head as he stepped across the kitchen to fetch the bacon.

"Dad! Harry was making faces at you!"

"Did not!"

"Did too! I saw him do it Dad!" yelled Dudley.

Harry didn't bother to argue any further, he knew it would be pointless. Dudley would be believed over him any day. _Well at least this timeI actually did something I guess. Beats being shouted at for nothing._

"BOY!" roared his Uncle Vernon, "If you think you can get yourself out of some honest hard work by getting yourself locked up, then you're wrong! You're going to make my breakfast, then you're going out to weed that garden, you hear? and I don't want to see your face until every single weed is gone! Is that clear boy? Then you'll stay in your room until we feel nice enough to let you out!"

"Yes Uncle Vernon," sighed Harry, as he moved towards the cooker. As the bacon was frying, Harry stared out the window, deep in thought. _I hope I don't have to ask for the gardening gloves, that's still a touchy subject. At least it's a nice day, if not a little hot... if I can drag the weeding out for a few hours, I could spend most of the day outside, before I'm locked up again. Better than being stuck inside._

Harry was brought back to reality when he saw that the bacon needed turning, and the next ten minutes were spent in an awkward silence that nobody wanted to break. Once he'd finished, Harry headed out the back, and before he closed the door he heard his Aunt's voice.

"I'm glad the freak is gone, I always feel more _normal_ when he's out of the house," and before Harry could hear any more, he slammed the door shut and started towards the garden shed at the bottom of the garden. He was lucky, about halfway to the shed he spotted his Aunt Petunia's rather feminine garden gloves that she'd bought the previous year, after Harry had ripped the other pair while he was painting the fence. As he was putting the gloves on, Harry saw movement from the corner of his eye, in a dark patch of grass near some bushes. As Harry moved cautiously towards the rustling, he could just make out a voice;

_"Sssslither and ssslide, sssslither and ssslide, in which bush, should I hide?"_

Harry slowly moved towards what he now saw to be a small, green snake. It was making it's way through the grass, towards a big bush that was in the bottom corner of the garden. The little snake froze as it saw something large moving towards it, and turned it's head in Harry's direction, flicking it's forked tongue.

_"Hello little snake, my name is Harry. What's your name?"_ At this, the little snake's tongue stopped mid-flick, and if Harry had to guess at the expression the snake wore, he would have said that it was one of a very surprised snake. Slowly, the little snake's tongue started flicking again, and the snake tilted it's head at Harry.

_"Hello speaker, I shall call you Harry, since that is your name. My name is Ssharaheshth. Have you seen my mouse?"_

_"That's fine, may I call you Shara? You have a complicated name. I'm afraid I haven't seen your mouse, although I could probably find one for you."_

_"My name is quite normal, but if you wish you may call me Shara. If you ask me, I think Harry is a stranger name! Could you really find me a mouse? I like mice, but they run fast." _The little snake seemed really excited at the prospect of getting a mouse, and was slithering around playfully in the grass, as if she was imagining catching the mouse, and then eating it. Harry laughed, the little snake was quite funny really, and it would be nice to talk to someone while he weeded the garden.

_"I have to weed the garden for the people that live here, would you like to talk for a while, and I'll try to find you a mouse later?" _asked Harry.

_"Yes Harry, I want to know how you can talk to me. I thought talking two-legs like you were a legend," _replied Shara.

_"As far as I know there are only two speakers alive, one is me, and the other is an evil wizard. I wasn't born with it though, but that's a long story." _Harry said, as he began work on the worst patch of weeds.

_"That's ok Harry, I like long stories. When I was a youngling I used to hear stories all the time. My mother was very old, and she knew lots of stories passed down from snake to snake, and she told us. I'd very much like to hear a new story Harry." _

_"Well Shara, for me it all began when the evil wizard broke into my parents house to try and murder me..."_ and as Harry told Shara his story, the little green snake sat and listened, and didn't speak until Harry was finished.

_"...and so now, I'm going to try and learn all I can so that when the evil wizard tries to kill me again, I can try my best to get out of it alive."_

The little snake slithered around Harry for a little while, as Harry kept pulling up weeds.

_"Harry."_

_"Yes Shara?"_

_"I would like to help you."_ Harry stopped pulling weeds.

_"Really? It will be dangerous, and I'm not sure I'd be allowed to have you in school... although I think my friend Hagrid would be happy to look after you, and I could come and see you often. There is a forest near my school too."_

_"Are there any mice in the forest Harry?"_

_"I think so, and if there aren't, I would make sure you have plenty anyway."_

_"In that case, I stand by my decision. I will come with you and help you. This man, this evil wizard... you say he has a snake?"_

_"Yes, her name is Nagini, and she bit my best friend's father last year on the evil wizard's orders."_

_"Nagini? I know Nagini... mother said she makes the other snakes do what she tells them to..." _said Shara, fearfully.

_"What do you mean?" _Asked Harry.

_"She is a bad snake... mother says she will eat any snake who dares to defy her."_

_"Well Shara, I will make sure Nagini doesn't eat you, you are a good snake."_

_"Thank you Harry, and don't forget my mousey!"_

That said, Shara turned and slithered into the bush she'd first sought out, singing about the mouse she was going to eat later, and Harry cleared up the weeds he'd just finished pulling out, and dumped them into the compost bin.

As soon as Harry set foot inside the Dursley's house, his Aunt Petunia started screaming at him for the mud he'd just brought in, and ordered Harry to take his trainers off and go take a shower. _Well at least this time, the water will be hot enough since your whale of a son is so fat, he needs it all!_ Harry thought, and he had to stop himself from smirking. This shower was indeed better than the previous one, and feeling very refreshed, Harry returned to his room to find that Hedwig had returned, and was sitting patiently on the end of Harry's bed with two letters tied to her leg.

"That was fast Hedwig! I didn't think you'd be back until tonight! Wow, two letters! Well done girl!" Harry stroked Hedwig's feathers as he reached for the tin of owl treats he kept under his bed, and he untied the letters as Hedwig was enjoying her treat.

"I need you to do me a favour Hedwig... Would it be alright for you to bring me back a mouse? I met a snake in the garden earlier, she's really quite nice, and I said I would try to find her a mouse."

"Hoot!" Harry took that to mean yes, as Hedwig didn't look too bothered by the request.

Harry looked down at the letters in his hand._ One from Hermione, one from Ginny. I'll see what Hermione said first._ Hedwig took a drink out of her water bowl as Harry unfolded Hermione's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_Of course I can recommend a book for you! It's called "Misting the Mind" by Proctus Penwright. I had a look when you first told me you'd be learning occlumency, just for some light reading of course! I must say I'm very proud of you Harry, I know you can do a lot better in school if you put your mind to it, and I'm just glad I wont have to beat it into your skull this year! I hope you are right about Ron studying more too, he underestimates himself far too often._

_Professor Snape really should have tried harder to teach you, but you're right, you didn't exactly put your best efforts into learning occlumency... I'm glad you're doing your best to catch up now though. As for being angry last year, it's alright Harry, I was moody too because of the OWL's, and Ron and I both know you were under a lot of stress, so really, we understand._

_I wont be able to reply to you for the next two weeks as my parents are going to Greece, and I've decided to go along with them to see the Greek magical community. I've heard they have some really interesting artifacts on display at their museum, so I'm really looking forward to the trip! Have a nice birthday, Ron has your present from me, so he'll send it to you on the day._

_Bye for now!_

_Hermione_

_P.s. I've enclosed the latest owl-order catalogue from Flourish and Blotts, so that you can start studying sooner!_

"Typical Hermione," Harry muttered under his breath.

As he was flicking through the catalogue, Harry spotted several titles that looked like they could be useful, and he picked out "Intermediate Defence", "Advanced Defence", "Stealth and Illusion", "Cunning Disguises", and also two others, for when he got fed up with studying; "Magical Myths and Legends" and "The 20 Most Amazing Quidditch Moves EVER!" As Harry was checking through the section of the catalogue that dealt with rare texts, he spotted a book titled "Parsel Magicks" and decided to buy that book as well, as he had no idea parseltongue magic even existed. _I'll ask Shara if she's heard of it the next timeI see her,_ thought Harry. He then filled in the owl-order, and decided to send it the next day, so that Hedwig could rest. Hopefully his books would arrive by Friday.

Just as Harry was putting his order to the side, he remembered about the other letter he'd recieved that day, and brought it out of his pocket. As he settled on the bed to read Ginny's letter, there was a shout from downstairs.

"Boy! Get down here!"

"Coming Uncle Vernon," Harry shouted back.

Harry made his way into the living room, where the Dursleys were all sitting on the sofa, obviously waiting for Harry to come downstairs. The television was switched off, which was never a good sign, although Dudley was casting longing glances in it's general direction, so Harry knew it couldn't be too bad, or else Dudley would be paying closer attention to see what happened to Harry.

"Boy, this family has had enough of you and your freaky kind, so we're moving. Tell your _friends_ we're moving in October, this house will be sold, and we never want to see you or hear from you again. After what happened to our Dudders last summer, we're not taking any more chances with you lot!" blustered Uncle Vernon, his moustache twitching the whole time, as if the hairs themselves had a nervous tick.

"I told you last summer, it wasn't me, it was the dementors-"

"Boy! We'll have none of-"

"-and I didn't hurt Dudley, I drove the dementors away-"

"-this nonsense! Preposterous, expecting us to believe-"

"-so like I said, it had nothing to do with me! Except-"

"-anything that comes out of your freak mouth!" Here, Uncle Vernon paused, as if he'd forgotten something.

"Except what, boy?" Uncle Vernon said quietly, in a tone of voice that suggested from previous experience that Harry should start running, and not look back. Dudley was now fully focused on what was happening in front of him, and Harry's Aunt Petunia was looking quite interested in what his reply would be. Harry was panicking a little now, this wasn't good.

"There was a woman, Delores Umbridge. The Minstry of Ma- the Ministry wanted to discredit me because they didn't want to believe that Voldemort is back. So this Umbridge woman sent some dementors to hurt me last summer, and Dudley just happened to be there! I had to use magic to make them go away, and the Ministry made out as if I was insane-"

"Ha! So even the freaks think you are a freak now eh?" Uncle Vernon sneered.

"No Uncle Vernon! They believe me now because lots of people saw Voldemort a couple of weeks ago in the Ministry building." Harry didn't want to give them too much information, they only cared about themselves anyway. At this, Aunt Petunia spoke.

"Harry, is Voldemort really back?" Everyone was now staring in wonder at Aunt Petunia, and rightly so, as Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd been called Harry by any of his relatives.

"Yes he is. It happened at the end of my fourth year. You've never been interested before, so why are you interested now?" Harry asked.

"Harry... how.. how did it happen? Dumbledore said he was dead in the letter he left with you. How could he come back if he was dead!" asked Aunt Petunia, looking very afraid.

Harry was surprised, never in his life had any of the Dursleys tolerated anything to do with magic, and they'd never been even remotely interested in what happened to Harry at school, yet now he was being asked to tell them about Voldemort.

"He's a very powerful wizard Aunt Petunia, he found a way. After he tried to kill me he was reduced to a spirit, and that's even less than a ghost. Then he tried to steal the Philosopher's stone, but I stopped him before he could. That was first year. Then in my second year, a sixteen year old memory of Voldemort possessed my friend Ginny and tried to come back by stealing her life, but I killed the basilisk, and stuck one of it's fangs through the memory, and then in fourth year there was the Triwizard Tournament, which I won along with Cedric Diggory. When we touched the tournament cup, it turned out to be a portkey to a graveyard where Voldemorts father was buried. He then stole some of my blood, mixed it into a potion, and used magic to build himself a new body. Now he's barely human, but he's alive and he has all of his magic."

"Vernon! We must stay! You remember what Dumbledore said!" said Aunt Petunia.

"I don't care what this Dummeldore said! I will not tolerate this abnormality in my house any longer! This is the last time Petunia! I've had it with this freak! Did you hear him? Ghosts! Next it'll be dragons!" By now Uncle Vernon was turning a rather nasty purple colour, and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. Harry thought it wise not to disillusion his Uncle any further by informing him that dragons did in fact exist.

"Vernon! Think about our family! He said that we're protected by him being here, and now Voldemort is alive! We need him here!" pleaded Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon paused.

"Boy, go to your room. We'd like to discuss this without you hanging around. Dudley you can stay." said Uncle Vernon and as Harry left to go to his bedroom, he heard Dudley whining.

"Dad, can't we just put the TV on and lock Harry in his room? He always causes trouble."

"No Dudley, we're having a family discussion! Now sit down!" shouted Uncle Vernon.

Harry was beyond surprised by this point, flabbergasted would be a more accurate word. Harry had never heard Dudley be spoken to so harshly in all his years with the Dursleys, and as he shut his bedroom door, he allowed himself a large grin, and threw himself on his bed. As he did so, he heard something rustling in his pocket, and as he brought out the letter he'd gotten from Ginny that afternoon, he settled down to finally read it.

_Dear Harry,_

_Don't worry about me Harry, my ankle is fine. It was fine when we left school remember? Madame Pomfrey had it fixed in a few minutes. It's not like I had to regrow anything! As for going to the ministry with you, I couldn't just let my friend go into danger alone now could I? Just like you couldn't leave me in the chamber. So there, I owed you one anyway. You're right about needing time too, One of my friends was the same when one of her family died, but she can think of them and be happy now. _

_I'm sure we can come up with something better than Gred and Forge put on in school, we just have to be careful, since we don't want to annoy Dumbledore too much! Must be difficult, having to run both the Order and Hogwarts at the same time. I'm sure he wouldn't mind us pranking, as long as we didn't always pick on the Slytherins. Maybe just Malfoy and his two Gorilla Girls. We could do all the houses at the same time too! I already have an idea for that actually if you're up for it? It involves some tricky spells but I'm sure we could find some in the library when we go back to school... Plus we have to turn the Slytherins orange for a week of course!_

_Homework's going ok, Snape's essay is a bugger as usual but I think I'm getting somewhere now! Helps when the textbook is actually a better teacher than Snape. Might read all of my textbooks actually, I'm starting to get bored of stories about vain wizards trying to play the hero. I mean, every main character is so much like Gilderoy Lockhart that you'd think he wrote the things!_

_Now here's the best for last! I've been wanting to tell you this or at least hint about it since I wrote "Dear Harry" at the top of the page! RON FIGURED OUT HE FANCIES HERMIONE! It's great! I've never teased him so much in my life, I mean, it's only been about... A CENTURY! So now he's walking around the house with a dazed expression on his face every time he gets a letter from her, and he spends days with it in his pocket afterwards, and sneaks it out to read when he thinks nobody's looking! I even managed to get a picture of him doing it! I'm going to frame it, and hang it on my bedroom wall above my desk, so that when I get bored of doing my homework I can look up and have a laugh. Seriously though, I wish all the best to them both, I think Hermione's the only one that could handle Ron! She's so like Mum sometimes, it's scary! Anyway, I've been writing this for a while now, and it's almost time to go help Mum with dinner! She's teaching me how to cook. It's like potions, but tastes and smells nicer! Well, if it's done properly... but Mum says I'm doing well! Are you looking forward to your birthday?_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

"BOY! YOU STOP THAT NOISE RIGHT NOW!"

Harry buried his face into his pillow and kept laughing, not really caring whether or not his Aunt and Uncle heard him. _Finally!_ Harry thought, _I thought he'd never figure it out! Oh Ginny's right, this is great! I definately need a copy of that photo!_

"BOY WILL YOU SHUT UP!"

Once Harry's insane laughter had subsided, he crossed his room to the desk, and got out some parchment, ink and a quill, and started his reply to Ginny. Hedwig had gone out hunting, so he couldn't send it until she was back, but at least the letter would be done.

_Dear Ginny,_

_NO WAY! That is brilliant! I haven't laughed so much since the pre-Umbridge days! Can you send me a copy of that photo? I need one above my desk too! Just don't ever tell Ron I said that. Maybe we should just write a letter to Hermione? Like, "Dear Hermione, Thought you might like to know, RON HAS SEEN THE LIGHT! He's finally figured out he fancies you, Love, Harry and Ginny."_

_Well, at least he can't complain about you going out with Dean now! He'd be a bit of a hypocrite now wouldn't he? To be honest I think he's a bit harsh on you sometimes, but then I would be too if you were the only girl to be born into my family for generations! He just wants to make sure you're alright. I don't think anyone would get away with going out with you, they'd have to be brave enough to face your brothers! Well, Dean is Gryffindor for a reason, good luck to him._

For some reason, a stray unwanted thought entered Harry's mind. _I'm brave enough. _Harry squashed that thought pretty much as soon as it formed, and changed the subject.

_I don't blame you for ditching the hero books, being a hero is sooo overrated anyway. I'd give anything to walk down Diagon Alley without people staring at me like I'm a potions ingredient. Only Lockhartesque people would like that, and I'd rather be a flobberworm than be compared to him. Yuck!_

_I decided to read all my textbooks last night too, I've started on my potions book but haven't gotten very far, since the Dursley's had me doing the garden. I have a new little friend too, her name is Shara and she'd like to come to Hogwarts with me. I'll probably get Hagrid to look after her, and go to visit her in the evenings. Although knowing her, she'll probably be chasing mice in the forest._

_What is your prank idea? I don't mind looking up spells in the library, as long as all the studying is worth it! Maybe turning the Slytherins orange for a week is a bit harsh... Might be better to turn Malfoy and his umm... Gorilla Girls (I think that's brilliant by the way, where did you hear it?) orange for a week, and the rest green. or maybe any Slytherins that we think are DE's in training can be orange for a week, like Pansy too, and Nott. Not all Slytherins are like Malfoy, they're just harder to spot because they need to pretend so that their own house doesn't turn on them. Must be difficult being a decent Slytherin._

_I'm still glad you weren't seriously hurt._

_Love,_

_Harry_

Harry sealed the letter into an envelope and left it on the side of his desk for when Hedwig came back, picked up his potions text, and settled in for another few hours of reading.

------------------------------------------------------------

It was 10pm later that night when Harry's nose found it's way out of his potions text.

"Harry dear, could you come downstairs please?" Came Aunt Petunia's voice through the door. Harry was confused, his Aunt had never spoken to him with anything but contempt, and being treated nice was all pretty new for Harry.

"Err... I'll be down in a minute Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, making sure not to sound impertinent. Harry closed his potions book after marking the page, and set it on his night table for when he returned. _What if I don't return? What if they're being nice to me because they're going to dump me somewhere, or lock me in the cupboard again? Maybe they just don't want to me to struggle, so they're being nice so that I'll be more likely to do as they say._

Harry was a bit worried as he went downstairs, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to suggest that something brutal and messy was about to happen, so Harry cautiously made his way into the Dursley's living room.

Uncle Vernon was sitting at the dining table as Aunt Petunia was finishing up a roast dinner in the kitchen, the back door was open, which explained why Harry couldn't smell it on his way down. _Has Dudley won a medal, they don't usually do that unless they want him to have a nice surprise dinner, and usually I'm upstairs... What the hell is going on?_

"Have a seat, Harry!" said Uncle Vernon, jovially. "Plenty to go round! Eh Dudders?" Dudley was also sitting at the dining table, looking extremely put out, which put Harry at ease, because if something nasty was going to happen to him, then he was sure Dudley would be first in line to buy tickets to the show.

Harry took his seat at the table, and waited to see what would happen next.

"We've come to a decision Harry boy, and we've decided that you can stay with us as long as you need to. Tomorrow Petunia will take you shopping, you look like you need some new clothes, and you're going to start eating properly too, no excuses for missing meals in this house! Definately not!" All of this was said as if Harry had just asked them to stay earlier that day, instead of having been dumped on the Dursley's doorstep as a baby.

"Er, thanks Uncle Vernon," said Harry. _Why are they doing this? I don't understand. What am I supposed to do? Act like everything's alright?_

"Dinner's ready!" called Aunt Petunia, and she came out of the kitchen holding a plate with a huge pork roast on it, and a bowl of mashed potatoes. She put the plates down on the table, smiled at Harry, then went back into the kitchen to get what Harry assumed correctly to be the rest of the meal. _I think I should just play along, and see where this goes. Hopefully I can get a roast dinner out of all this. _

Aunt Petunia came back out of the kitchen with a bowl full of vegetables, a plate of Yorkshire puddings, and another plate full of roast parsnips. To Harry's surprise, she then went back into the kitchen. Again she came out with more dishes.

"Help yourselves boys, plenty for everyone! There's gravy here, salt, pepper, apple sauce, What would you like to drink? Make sure you leave enough room for pudding!" said Aunt Petunia, and once everyone had said which drink they wanted, Aunt Petunia once again disappeared into the kitchen. At this point Harry was pretty happy in his own opinion. Yes, his Aunt and Uncle were acting weird, but Harry could worry about that once he'd filled his rather empty stomach, which was practically eating itself by now.

It was a rather enjoyable meal, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were talking about going to see some theatre production that had just come out, no doubt so that when Uncle Vernon's posh clients talked about it, he knew what to say back. Dudley was shooting him glares every now and again, but mostly he was too busy stuffing his face and getting food down his chin to worry about the fact that he was sitting at the same table as the 'freak'.

Once everyone had cleared their plates, Aunt Petunia returned to the kitchen with the dirty dishes, and brought out a massive strawberry cheesecake and set it down in the middle of the table. She gave everyone a slice, and Harry actually got a slice that was the same size as Dudley's for once. It was delicious, and that disappeared the same way his roast dinner had. By now Harry was feeling pretty satisfied, although he was surprised to note that he missed Hogwart's pumpkin juice.

"Had enough to eat Harry?" asked Aunt Petunia.

"Yes thanks, it was great!" said Harry.

"You look a little confused," commented his Aunt. At this Harry was more shocked than he'd been all evening, as Aunt Petunia had never cared about Harry's feelings before.

"Well just a little Aunt Petunia, why are you doing this? What's going on?"

It was Uncle Vernon who answered.

"You're here for protection, aren't you bo- Harry, and we haven't exactly protected you have we? Well, we're going to start."

Harry thought back to the conversation from earlier that day, and he realised why the Dursleys were being... well, _nice_ for a change. _They want me to protect them, that's why they're being nice! They don't want me to leave, and risk themselves getting killed by Voldemort, now that he's back. It's a two-way thing... They protect me, and I protect them. They're just pretending to care. They just don't want to get themselves killed by throwing me out, or having me run away. _Although he hated to admit it, this realisation hurt. All he'd ever wanted was a family, and the only family he had left was pretending to like him for their own gain. It stung. It was better when they treated him badly, at least they were showing the truth, and that allowed Harry to resent them. He excused himself as soon as it was polite to do so, and returned to his room to brood.

When Harry arrived back in his room, it was to find that Hedwig had returned from her hunting, and was perched on the end of Harry's bed, eyeing the letter he'd written to Ginny earlier with anticipation, a dead mouse sitting at her feet.

"Hello girl! Thanks for the mouse! Have a nice time hunting?" Hedwig gave a "hoot!" that Harry took to mean yes, and returned to eyeing the letter.

"Hold on girl, I just have something to add, it'll only take a few minutes. Would you like some fresh water before you go?" asked Harry.

"HOOT!" Hedwig replied, so after getting Hedwig some fresh water, and putting the dead mouse into a box,Harry ripped open the envelope containing Ginny's letter, and added a bit at the bottom.

_p.s. My relatives are being nice to me as of today, I think it's because they realised that they're protected by my being here too, and they don't want me to leave, and they're not chucking me out. I actually got to sit down with them and have a roast pork dinner! Strawberry cheesecake too! In a way though, I'd rather they were nasty, than being nice just for their own protection._

Harry folded up his amended letter, and put it in a fresh envelope. _I'd better write to Ron too, I can't believe he finally noticed he fancies Hermione! _So Harry apologised once more to Hedwig, and brought out a fresh sheet of parchment.

_Dear Ron, _

_I heard from Ginny that you finally realised you like Hermione! It's about time too mate, I was getting worried that you would miss your chance. You should ask her out next time you see her, I'm sure she'd say yes! Just don't do anything stupid._

_How are things at your end? The Dursleys have started being nice to me, I think they're worried I'll leave, and then they won't be protected when Voldemort blows up their house. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with sudden feelings of goodwill towards me. At least I got a roast prk dinner out of it! Strawberry cheesecake too._

_Oh and I'm sure if you ask her nicely, Hedwig will wait until you've written a reply before coming back. I've asked her to wait for you to tell her to go just in case._

_From,_

_Harry_

"Any chance you could take a letter to the Order too Hedwig?" The intelligent owl bobbed her head reluctantly, and waited while Harry once again brought out a fresh sheet of parchment to write on.

"Sorry girl, but I just realised it'll be three days again tomorrow, so maybe take it on the way back or something. I'm sure you'll be fine, I just don't want the Order showing up at the door," said Harry apologetically. Hedwig's head-bobbing was a bit more enthusiastic after that.

_To Whoever Reads my Note,_

_I'm alright, any idea when I'm being moved?_

_-H_

Harry put both his letter to Ron and the one for the Order into fresh envelopes, and gave Hedwig instructions while he tied them to her leg.

"I need you to give this one to Ginny, and this one to Ron, and could you possibly wait to see if Ron needs you to bring back a reply? Thanks Hedwig! This one needs to go to the Order. You know where I mean, yes? Good girl. Just give it to the first reliable person you see, not Snape though, and definately not Mundungus! He'd probably drink my letter." At this last instruction, Hedwig gave an offended hoot, as if to say, "What do you take me for?" and ruffled Harry's hair with her wing as she took flight out of his bedroom window.

Harry lay down on his bed, brought out his potions text, and started reading until his eyes could no longer stay open, and then Harry undressed, got under the covers, and slept soundly for the night.

Unseen by Harry, Saera smiled as he fell asleep, and took up her position at the end of Harry's bed, to watch over him as he slept.

"Don't worry Harry, you have your own family. You made it yourself, and they'll always be there for you. No matter what. You just don't know it."

Harry slept on, unaware of the number of people, spiritual or otherwise, who at that moment, were thinking of him and hoping he was safe and happy.

(A/N: Hope you like this chapter, pretty much just setting things up at the moment... getting all the pieces in place, before starting to put them all together! Please note that reviews are appreciated, but I really don't mind whether people leave them or not. I don't mind mistakes being pointed out, either spelling or grammar.I'll do my best to reply to them personally this week, but my mum will be here, and my little boy's 1st birthday is on Tuesday so going to be out a lot. I definately wont be able to do any more writing, but once my mum's left I'll be straight back to work, hopefully churning out many chapters. Thanks for reading!)


	3. Chapter 3

(Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters from the Harry Potter series of books are not my characters, I just borrowed them for the purposes of this story. I don't plan to make any money with this story, and I don't want to print it either, except for personal backup purposes. The other characters however are mine, and I'll do with them as I please. Although I'm going to do that with JK's characters too I guess, but yeah, don't sue me.)

Chapter 3

Harry was walking beside the Hogwarts lake, wearing dress robes of all things, looking for something. He didn't know what the something was, he just knew that it was really important, and that if he didn't find it soon, he'd lose it forever. It was a strange feeling, like knowing that you have to find a certain puzzle piece, and that the rest of the pieces will just slot in afterwards. Spurred on by this unknown sense of urgency, Harry broke into a run, and sprinted along the side of the lake, chasing the threads of sense that were just beyond his vision.

He never tired, no matter how fast he ran, and after what felt like half an hour Harry saw something in the distance, and as he ran even faster, he could feel the wind in his hair, hear the birds in the trees, he could even smell something both unknown and utterly fascinating at the same time… if asked, Harry would say he was somewhere close to heaven. Nobody asked though, and Harry didn't see a single person on his run, even though he tried his hardest to catch up with the unknown entity that always seemed to be just out of his line of sight.

So Harry just kept running.

When Harry awoke that morning he felt incredibly well rested, and he realised straight away that it was later than usual, and that for some reason he'd slept through his relative's normal morning routine. He remembered little of his dream, he just knew that he'd been looking for something or someone at Hogwarts lake, and that he never found whatever or whoever it was.

_At least I'm having my own dreams now, or else Voldemort has gone off the deep end. Well, I guess he's already gone off the deep end. So he'd probably have gone off the shallow end if that's what he's thinking about. _The mental images of Voldemort having a change of heart, and suddenly giving out free sweets, made Harry chuckle. He sobered quickly enough when he thought of the prophecy though. True, that scenario would make things easier for Harry, he wouldn't have any reason to kill Voldemort then, but it was never going to happen. Harry knew that he would one day meet Voldemort for the last time. He thought about what the prophecy said he must do. _What does it mean by 'vanquish'? Why not just say 'defeat' or 'kill'… Why vanquish? _No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't think of an explanation. _I'll ask Dumbledore the next time I see him, he did say he would tell me more. I just don't want to be a murderer if I get through this! Is it murdering to kill a dark lord? _While thinking this, Harry stared out of the window at the blue sky above Privet Drive, and he was surprised to see that Hedwig was making her way gracefully over towards his bedroom window, as she usually arrived earlier in the day. Harry continued his thought train as he quickly got dressed and opened his window for Hedwig to fly through.

_Well every time I've met Voldemort, he's tried to kill me first. It's not like I set out to ruin his plans in particular. All that just happened! The tournament… he was the one that wanted to try and finish what he started, but will knowing what I'm supposed to do now change things the next time he tries to kill me? If I do manage to kill him, will the fact that I knew I was the only person who could, make me a murderer? Even if it's right for the world to live in peace, is it right to plan to kill another person? That's what I'm doing by getting all these books. I'm planning to kill Voldemort._

At that moment Hedwig came soaring through the open window with three letters tied to her leg., and with another two mice, a live one hanging by its tail from Hedwig's beak, and a dead mouse clutched in her talons. She settled on Harry's desk, and held the leg with the mouse and letters attached out first.

"What have you brought Hedwig? Three letters again! I'm popular. Why have you brought me two mice girl?"

At this question Hedwig turned her gaze towards the box that had the dead mouse from the night before still in it.

"Oh Hedwig, I almost forgot about Shara's mouse! Thank you for reminding me!" Hedwig bobbed her head in acknowledgement and stood patiently as Harry detached the various letters and animals from her. The live mouse was placed in Hedwig's cage, and the snowy white owl shook her head at Harry, and motioned that she would prefer the dead one.

"Are you sure girl? I don't think Shara would mind if you had it." Again, Hedwig shook her head and gestured towards the dead mouse, so Harry placed the dead mouse inside Hedwig's cage, and put the live mouse in a separate box rather than with the dead one from the previous night.

"There you go girl, as long as you're happy, you can have whatever you want. I don't mind. I really appreciate you carrying my letters. It's the only thing I have to look forward to here. I really should go and give these to Shara. Enjoy your mouse!" Hedwig ruffled Harry's hair with her wing as she glided from the desk to her cage, and seeing that she was happy, Harry left his room.

Harry cautiously listened at the top of the stairs for any sign of activity, but all he could hear was his Aunt making something in the kitchen, and Dudley watching television. He'd noticed earlier when he opened his window that the car wasn't in the driveway, so his Uncle had already left for work. Harry casually walked down the stairs, with a bit more confidence than he usually would have dared to show in the Dursley household, and walked into the kitchen.

Aunt Petunia was preparing a casserole, and Harry could see that she'd also kept some breakfast aside on a plate.

"Oh you're awake Harry dear! I didn't want to disturb you, you looked so tired yesterday! I saved you some breakfast, sit down at the table and I'll bring it over for you. Would you like a drink?"

"Er, just a glass of orange juice please Aunt Petunia."

_This is how a normal family is. I bet if my parents were alive my Mum would save me breakfast. I just have to remember that it's not real. _He couldn't help adding _I wish it was _to the end of that thought though.

Harry ate his breakfast in silence, his Aunt tried talking to him a few times but Harry just nodded, shook his head, or shrugged, depending on which would fit best. In all honesty, he didn't have a clue what to say back.

After he'd finished, Harry cleared away his breakfast things, and headed towards the back door.

"Harry, remember I'm taking you shopping for new clothes today, we'll be leaving at 12:30. Please make sure you're ready for then, ok?" Harry nodded, and then went out into the garden to look for Shara.

"_Shara? Are you there?" _There was no reply, so Harry moved towards the bush that he'd seen her disappear into the day before.

"_Shara? Can you hear me?" _A few seconds later, Harry heard rustling from inside the bush, and he heard,

"_Is that you Harry?"_

"_Yes Shara it's Harry, I found you two mice!"_

There was more rustling, and then Harry saw Shara's little green head poke out from under the bush.

"_You found me two mice Harry?"_

"_Yes Shara, my owl hunts mice all the time, and she brought me a dead one last night, and a live one this morning for you."_ Harry replied.

_"You should thank your owl from me, I love mice! I was supposed to eat two days ago, but I was too tired to catch little mousey… can I please have the dead one? I may be able to catch the live one if I eat the dead one first. Here little dead mousey!"_

_"Of course Shara, here you go."_ Harry took the box with the dead mouse in it out of his pocket, and tipped the mouse onto the ground just in front of the bush where Shara seemed to have taken up residence.

_"Thankssss..." _Shara trailed off as soon as her tongue picked up the scent of blood on the mouse, and Harry looked away as she swallowed the mouse whole. He didn't mind giving the little snake food, but sitting there watching as the little mouse disappeared into Shara's jaws would have been a bit much. It was bad enough having to put it in the box the night before, as Hedwig usually ate her meals outside, or deposited them in her cage to be eaten later. Even then Harry always looked away. He wasn't going to ask Hedwig to always eat her mice outside though, Harry knew what his Aunt and Uncle were like, and therefore it was possible that the poor owl wouldn't get to go hunting for days, and Harry would have to sneak her some of the food he was given. Hedwig was a very smart owl, and always had a spare mouse on hand in case the Dursleys were particularly cruel, and she always tried to hide her mice behind her perch, so that Harry wouldn't have to see them every time he looked over. She even carried the remains out with her when she was finished.

Once Shara was finished her meal, she hissed her pleasure, and when Harry looked round there was a lump on the little snake that wasn't there before.

_"Is that better little snake?" _asked Harry.

_"Very much so Harry, very much so indeed! Already I can feel the tiredness leaving me… although… could you please hold on to little mousey for a while, as I don't think I could fit any more." _While she was speaking, Shara had retreated slightly into the bush, far enough for her to be difficult to see, but not so far as to remove herself completely from the path of the sun's rays.

_"Of course Shara, I prefer not to be carrying dead mice around with me anyway. Although, I'm not sure which one smelled worse!"_ said Harry, screwing up his nose.

_"They both smell like dinner to me! The live ones are far more fun in my opinion, there's nothing like chasing a little mousey through the grass, and catching it between your jaws, and then letting the juices flow! I will eat you later little mousey! Run as fast as you like, I don't mind chasing you..." _said Shara, her head swaying from side to side as she digested her latest meal, and contemplated her next one.

_"Shara, I thought snakes only had to eat one mouse every few days? I'm sure that's what they said when I was at the zoo, and those snakes were much bigger than you." _ Harry was sitting cross legged in the grass by now, his hands picking out single blades of green and twirling them in his fingers, and then discarding them to the side when they became limp.

_"Thanks for reminding me of my inadequate size! Just because I am small doesn't mean I don't have feelings you know. Those snakes hardly need to move, it's not like they have much space. Humans think we don't eat much, but neither would they if they were stuck in a cage! I have a friend that lives in lots of trees and bushes near here; he used to live in a zoo, until a little wizard set him free. He said the glass vanished, and he got out while he could. He told me… but then you wouldn't be interested in what he said. The main point is that he eats like mice are going to run out!" _and at that, Shara looked as outraged as a snake ever possibly could, and rested her head on her rather dirty looking green coils.

_"I'm sorry if I offended you! I'm considered to be small among humans too. The snake you mentioned… I might know him. Is he around six feet long, and a brownish colour?" _asked Harry curiously. It would be nice to see the boa again.

_"Don't be silly Harry! Snakes don't have six feet! See? I don't have any feet. I thought you would know what a foot looks like, considering you have two of them! Anyway, yes he is long, and I would say brownish was about right. How do you know him?" _ Replied Shara, seemingly having forgotten the supposed slight on her size.

_"Well Shara, if I'm right, then I would be the wizard that set him free. I didn't mean feet as in these feet-" _Harry stuck his foot out_ "-I meant feet as in a measurement of distance. Like, from here to the house I would say it's about forty five feet," _said Harry.

_"Oh right. I'm glad, because I didn't think you were stupid when I met you, and usually I'm pretty good with telling whether or not humans are stupid. I see things that humans try to hide," _said Shara, flicking dry dirt around with her tail.

_"What do you mean Shara? You can tell how smart a person is?"_

_"No Harry, just whether or not they are sincere. Whether or not they mean what they say. Last moon I sensed that someone was lying, but that's new. I haven't had much opportunity since then to explore that sense. I knew that you would come back with a mouse, because your words were those of a human who does what they say they're going to do. Lots of humans say things they don't mean. When I mistook your meaning for feet, I sensed that you were sincere in your words, so they took on a different meaning, so I am not always correct, you see. A lot is interpretation, but I am young. Mother said I would learn in time," _said Shara, as if she was merely stating the weather for the next day. This was all news to Harry, he had never heard of a snake that could sense people's intentions before. That ability could be useful, if Shara was willing.

_"Wow Shara, you're a very smart snake for being able to read humans so easily. I wish I could do the same! Do you still see your mother sometimes?" _asked Harry.

_"I used to go back sometimes. Mother taught me lots of things. The knowledge is there but it's locked away until I need it. She said I am a very special snake, and that it's not every one of her young that she shared her knowledge with. She said I was different. She once told me that if I chose the correct path, I could do great things for all snakes!" _Shara replied proudly, and her entire body seemed to take on a regal pose, which was ruined slightly by the big bulge in her midsection.

_"Fascinating! I would like to speak to her someday, she sounds very nice. Maybe your mother was right, you have chosen to come with me to Hogwarts, maybe that is what she meant."_

_"Maybe Harry. I would like to speak to her again someday too, but the last time I went back, she was gone. I don't know where she is, she was just gone. I would like to rest now Harry, but please come and talk to me again, I like you. You're a nice two-leg," _said Shara, and indeed, the little snake did look tired.

_"No problems Shara, I will leave you to rest. I don't know when I will be able to come and see you again, because my relatives are acting strange towards me, but I will try to come often. I like you too, you're a nice no-leg," _Harry said, with a big smile on his face. There was a lot of hissing from Shara, which Harry took to be laughter, and as he got up and walked away he heard her say,

_"Funny little two-leg! Yes, he is the one. I like him."_

When Harry got to the door, he turned and looked for Shara under what he'd begun to refer to in his mind as Shara's 'hidey-hole', and he could just make out a little green lump, and Shara's head once again settling down on her coils, presumably for a nap, or whatever snakes did to rest. Harry was puzzled about her last sentence, but those thoughts were quickly driven from his mind as his Aunt came towards him with yet another plate of food as soon as he stepped in the door.

"Harry dear, you should really eat more, you're far too thin! Here's some sandwiches, I just finished making them. You're just in time actually, I was about to call you in! DUDLEY! LUNCH! Now you just sit here, what would you like to drink? I'll get you a chocolate éclair from the fridge too, since there is an extra one. Let me know if you like it, and I'll make sure we have extra more often! Now, here's your sandwiches, What did you say you'd like to drink? We have apple juice, orange juice, pepsi, lemonade, blackcu-"

"Orange juice would be fine, thank you Aunt Petunia," replied Harry.

"That's fine dear, I'll bring it out in a moment! DUDLEY! LUNCH! NOW!"

Aunt Petunia almost ran into the kitchen in her haste to get Harry his orange juice. The Dursleys were acting ridiculous in Harry's opinion, but he wasn't going to mention it and risk being locked up and starved again, so he dutifully picked up a sandwich and started nibbling on it. He'd just finished his first triangle of sandwich as Dudley sat down at the table across from him and picked up his own triangle.

"Hey freak, just because Mum and Dad have decided to be _nice_ to you doesn't mean that I will be, and if you tell them, I'll pound your face in." Dudley said through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Look Dudley, I'm only here for a few weeks, I don't care if you go out and smoke pot round your friend's houses when you're supposed to be out 'studying', and I don't care if you sneak vodka from Uncle Vernon's drinks cabinet and top it up with water, and I particularly don't care that you got arrested last week for trying to steal an old woman's handbag, but I think your parents will. All I want is to be left alone and to be allowed to eat. It's not really much to ask, when you think about it. Is it Dudley?" Harry allowed himself to smirk across the table at his cousin, meanwhile Dudley's face had gone white as a sheet, and his sandwich was now a messy pulp in his fat left hand, and his eyes were almost falling out of his face.

"You sneaky fuck. You backstabbing little freak! You wouldn't dare. They wouldn't believe you. How do you know anyway?" spat Dudley, once he'd regained his composure a little.

"It's amazing what you can do with a little bit of magic Dudley, and do you really want to risk them finding out? Do you really think they're stupid enough not to believe what's been right in front of their noses the whole time? You might not have noticed, but this house revolves around _me_ while I'm here. You get nice presents because I don't. You get to stay out late because I don't. Everything you have, you have because _I don't._ Do you see now Dudley? They will believe me now, because they _have to._ Now leave me alone, and nothing will come of this. Annoy me, and I'll make sure your parents know everything you do outside this house, including that girl!"

"You wouldn't- no, you can't- how dare you! You can't do this!" Whispered Dudley nervously, glancing towards the kitchen, where he knew his mother would be emerging from shortly, probably laden with tasty treats for the two boys.

"Like I said Dudley, you play fair, and I'll keep my mouth shut. Simple. Now do you agree or should I prepare my speech now?" said Harry coldly, not letting any emotion show in his face. Dudley blanched, and quickly whispered his agreement across the table, moments before Aunt Petunia came out of the kitchen with the two biggest bowls of ice cream Harry had ever seen in the Dursley household. Fortescue did bigger bowls, but not many people were brave enough to even try those, and Harry had never personally seen one. He'd seen a picture though, and boy was it impressive.

Harry quickly ate what he could and gulped down his juice, as Aunt Petunia rushed round the house, setting things straight before she took Harry out shopping.

"Now Dudley, you said you were going to Piers' house this afternoon, didn't you pumpkin?" Dudley nodded.

"Ah good, well can you ask nicely if you can stay for tea, I'm taking Harry out for some new clothes, as he's ruined his other ones. We might be back late, and I don't want my Diddydinkums starving!"

"Okay Mum," said Dudley, and he stole a quick nervous glance at Harry before saying goodbye, and dashing out of the front door as quickly as his weight would allow.

Harry and his Aunt Petunia left the house soon afterwards, and headed towards the nearest bus stop that would take them into town. They only had to wait about 5 minutes before the correct bus came, and Harry headed towards an empty seat at the back of the bus so that he would be able to see people boarding. He doubted Voldemort or his Death Eaters would be waiting for him at a muggle bus stop, but he'd learned to be a little paranoid. _As long as I don't end up like Moody! _Harry thought to himself as his Aunt sat on the seat in front of him, and the bus moved off.

Within ten minutes, the bus arrived at the closest shopping centre, which Harry recognised from when he was five, and the school nurse had demanded that his relatives buy him some glasses. It had expanded since then, and at some point a multi-storey car park had been added too. Harry could tell that a lot of the shops had changed in those ten years, and he was now looking forward to taking a look round some of them, if he could convince his Aunt he'd be alright for 10 minutes while she had a cup of tea. He hadn't brought any of his own money with him because it was mostly in galleons, and what little muggle money he had, he wanted to keep in case there was an emergency. It was well past time that the Dursleys spent some money on him anyway.

The first shop Aunt Petunia took him to was a large department store, which seemed to stock all kinds of clothing, from underwear to shoes, and there was even a small sports section at the back.

"I'll go look in the ladies section, I need a new dress for entertaining our guests on Tuesday, go find yourself a few pairs of trousers, and some t-shirts and jumpers too. Don't worry about cost, this shop seems to price things fairly. Come and find me when you are done," and with that, Aunt Petunia disappeared into the maze of stands that were the ladies section.

The men's section wasn't nearly as cramped, and Harry had no trouble finding two pairs of normal jeans that actually fit him, two pairs of nice black trousers that were made of a soft shimmery material, and a pair of shorts for the really hot days. He also picked up some underwear while he had the chance, since even his underwear was second hand. _I'll be glad to be rid of these horrible rags, _thought Harry as he looked down at his present attire in disgust. He chose a black woollen jumper with a turtleneck, and decided that since he liked it so much he'd get the one they had in green too. Harry also managed to find some t-shirts that didn't have anything too stupid written on them, and he just had to add two t-shirts that he particularly liked, but had slogans. One said, "It's rude to stare", and the other had "Boy Wonder" across the front. Not many people would understand why he found the second one so funny, but he hoped his friends would, or at least Hermione. Most people would think he was just showing off. He saw one that had "Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon" and decided that he should also add that one, as it was his school's motto. It had a rather oriental looking dragon printed on the front and back. The dragon's head was on the shoulder, with the dragon's body on the back, and its tail curling around the front again. He though the dragon might be a bit much, but then thought about what the other students at Hogwarts wore, and decided it wasn't bad at all.

Harry walked through the ladies section looking for his Aunt, blushing madly as he quickly walked through the ladies underwear, and he spotted his Aunt in a section full of evening dresses.

"Aunt Petunia, I'm done now." Harry stated.

"Hold on dear, I've narrowed it down to two dresses. What do you have there?"

Aunt Petunia quickly gave Harry enough money to cover the cost of his clothes, and told him to go and pay, and that she would either be beside the dresses, or in the changing rooms. Harry heard her muttering as he walked away towards the tills.

"Quicker than I expected, and hasn't cleaned us out either. Same with the food earlier. Strange boy. It's not normal, I tell you!"

Harry didn't know whether or not to take that as a compliment, but in the end he decided not to, since they were just playing a game with him until he went back to school. He'd play along if he had to, but he'd much rather they just left him alone. He wanted to be around people who liked him for who he was, and he knew by experience that the Dursleys couldn't care less. Even if he was unsure about whether or not Dumbledore cared about him, at least at Hogwarts he had Ron and Hermione, and now Ginny too. Of course, there were people at Hogwarts who would rather see the back of him, but Hogwarts was large enough that as long as he had his friends, he could be happy.

Harry paid for the clothes he'd picked up, and as the salesgirl was putting his purchases into a large plastic bag, he noticed that there was an assortment of baseball caps and beanie hats on the wall behind her. After all his purchases had been rung up, there was still twenty pounds left, so Harry bought himself a black beanie hat, and a red baseball cap. He figured that with all the Gryffindors out there wearing red hats, he wouldn't really be noticed. As an afterthought he also bought a blue cap, since people wouldn't expect Harry Potter to wear Ravenclaw colours.

Feeling pretty pleased with himself, Harry once again went to search for his Aunt in the dress section, and met her halfway to the tills. She'd settled on an elegant grey dress with black trims, which Harry thought wasn't too bad, seeing as his Aunt Petunia had a habit of buying dresses with big ugly flowers all over them.

"What do you think Harry? Your Uncle is trying to sign a new customer, and he's invited the CEO of the company over for dinner, and he's bringing his wife. From what I've heard, they're rather strange, but can't complain… very enthusiastic Vernon said…"

"Err, it's nice Aunt Petunia. Very um… Elegant. I'm not really the best person to ask. The lady behind the counter would know more than me," floundered Harry, trying his best not to seem rude. Dresses were _not_ his thing. In his opinion, it was the girl that made the dress, and no dress on Earth would fix his Aunt's aesthetic problems.

"Oh good! I think elegant is the safest bet for this customer… I just need to find shoes, but we'll be going to the shoe shop anyway since yours are falling apart at the seams."

Harry looked down at his rather worn trainers, which were grey when he'd gotten them in the first place. His right big toe was sticking out of a small hole, and he'd noticed that they'd been letting in water for a few months now. It would be nice to have some new shoes of his own, since his relative's were feeling so generous.

"Sorry Aunt Petunia."

The shoe shop was only a little further along the row of shops, and after figuring out what size he was, it didn't take long for Harry to settle on a pair of black boots, that looked like they'd last a while. They were really comfortable too, as it turned out that Harry had been wearing trainers that were far too wide, and a size too small. When Aunt Petunia saw them, she approved and sent Harry off to pay for them while she chose some shoes to match her dress. Harry waited outside the shop for his Aunt, who came out five minutes later, apparently having found something suitable.

"You're going to get a decent pair of trainers as well, since knowing you, you'll probably end up in some trouble before long, and need something a bit better than boots to run in." Aunt Petunia said as she came up to him.

Harry had personally never been in a dangerous situation where he'd had the time to stop and change his footwear, but again, he wasn't going to turn down a free pair of trainers. If the boots were that comfortable, then the trainers would be luxury.

"Okay, thanks Aunt Petunia."

Harry and his Aunt Petunia made their way to the sports shop which was a bit further into the shopping centre, as Harry subconsciously looked at the people around him to see if he recognised any witches or wizards in the crowds. They had an uncanny knack of choosing just the right clothes to make them stand out to _everyone, _it was just lucky that the muggles truly had no idea about their world at all, and that most of them were passed off as eccentric. Every now and again, in the Daily Prophet, there would be an article about how some prominent witch or wizard was mistakenly taken to a lunatic asylum by the muggles, and how they would just apparate out of the building as soon as they had two minutes by themselves. They generally thought it was quite funny, as they saw the muggles as naïve, and didn't realise how far they'd advanced. There was one case where the wizard apparating had been caught on a security camera, but luckily a ministry squad had sorted out _that_ mess.

Once inside the sports shop Aunt Petunia led Harry to the men's trainer section.

"Right Harry, I'm going to give you a little more of an allowance in here. After all, you'll need clothes to properly train in. I want you to start doing some running in the mornings, we'll put you in for swimming, and a martial arts class too. The fitter you are, the easier it will be to defend both yourself and your family - and friends if it comes to that. So get yourself a decent pair of trainers that will give you the biggest advantage over the Death Eaters. Get yourself some running and swimming things too, martial arts provide their outfits as far as I know."

Now right there, his Aunt had hit the nail on the head. Harry wasn't stupid, and he'd been waiting for his Aunt to mention defending the family since they'd left that afternoon. He tried not to get angry, as he'd been expecting it all along, instead he thought of his friends, and how hopefully right now some sort of plan was forming to come and get him. If not, it was only five more weeks until Hogwarts was open. Instead of making a scene and shouting at his Aunt, which was what Harry wanted to do, he calmed himself down, and thought about the fact that he hadn't had so many new clothes in his life, _ever_.

"That sounds fine Aunt Petunia."

Once back at Hogwarts, none of this would matter. Or at least that's what kept Harry level headed enough to actually choose some decent clothes. It would also be nice not to have damp feet when it rained. Martial arts actually sounded fun too. _That's it Harry, calm down. Choose your clothes, go back, sit out five more weeks at most, and then it's off to Hogwarts!_

Harry chose some Nike Air running shoes, that had some sort of air bubble inside them that made Harry's feet sigh in relief as he walked, some tracksuit bottoms and shorts for running in, and a couple of sleeveless tops. Once everything was paid for, Aunt Petunia suggested they head towards a café for a bite to eat, and so they ended up in a place called McDonalds, which Harry had heard about but never been to. He learned two things whilst there; one, he was going to teach the elves at Hogwarts how to make these Big Mac's, and two, the fries really weren't all that. He had no idea why the house-elves didn't make more muggle types of food, but at a guess he would say that it was because of ignorance at what they could offer.

On their way out of the shop, Harry saw a reflection in the glass door that made him stop and throw his arm out to the side so that his Aunt didn't walk out.

"Shhhh," said Harry.

Harry's wand was up his sleeve as it usually was, and he'd worn his new trainers out of the sports shop, but unfortunately Aunt Petunia was wearing a pair of heels that really were not suitable for running.

"Aunt Petunia, we have to sneak out the back, out of the staff doors. I know it's not allowed, but there are three wizards and witches with black cloaks, with wands in their hands, and their hoods up. They don't seem to care about fitting in, so I'm guessing they mean business." Harry whispered quietly, out of the side of his mouth, so that only his Aunt could hear his words. Aunt Petunia in turn grabbed Harry's arm, and started leading him casually towards where the toilets and staff doors were.

"I know this place quite well Harry, Dudley has sneaked out on me more times than I can count, and I followed him once so I know which way the staff exit is. Did any of them see you?" said Aunt Petunia.

"I don't think so; they were keeping watch on the front of the shop, like someone had tipped them off. They might think it odd that the door opened and closed with nobody coming out though, so we better hurry."

There was silence after that, and Aunt Petunia led them through the back of the shop and out onto the delivery bays. Harry took a look around, and not seeing anyone or anything out of place, Harry and his Aunt made their way to the nearest taxi rank. They got into the first taxi that was conveniently parked there, and gave him the address.

"Four Privet Drive please, and we're in a hurry. I don't mind paying extra, we just need to get there urgently."

Harry hoped that the Death Eaters still thought they were in McDonalds, since they could easily apparate and block off the street before theirs, which would make it a lot more difficult to get back.

It took five minutes to get back to Privet Drive, and nothing was amiss.

"Lets get inside Aunt Petunia, there are a couple of things I need to do now."

Aunt Petunia nodded sharply, and carrying a few bags, she walked as fast as her shoes would allow, and disappeared into the house while Harry brought the rest of the bags, which were all his anyway. _Mine._

Once inside the house, Harry put his bags upstairs and started unpacking his new things into drawers, at the same time trying to think of a way to communicate with Dumbledore without leaving the house. Mrs Figg's was out, as the Death Eaters may still appear nearby, hoping to catch them before they got home. Hedwig would take too long, and the only other way Harry could think of to get in touch with the old professor, was by phoenix mail, but he didn't know how to call Fawkes. He'd called him once before, in the Chamber of Secrets, but Dumbledore had said something about showing loyalty… That didn't really apply this time. Therefore, Harry decided to keep it simple.

"Fawkes!" Harry said firmly. Nothing happened.

"Fawkes! I need to get an urgent message to professor Dumbledore, and I know you're a smart Phoenix, so if you can hear me, _please_ answer!"

Harry sat down on his bed and put his head on his knees. _Why do these things always happen to me? Oh yeah, it's because I lived when I should have died. Well seeing as I don't know what it's like to be dead, I'll just see how far this life takes me, and see what happens._

Suddenly, there was a bright red flash of flame, and Fawkes appeared on the bed next to Harry, and looked down apologetically at the burn mark on Harry's bedcovers that had appeared at the same time. Harry's eyes widened, and not caring about the burn mark, he jumped off his bed, ran over to his desk and started scribbling on a piece of parchment.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Fawkes, if I'd known it would work, I would have written a letter already! I only tried because I couldn't think of any other way to reach Professor Dumbledore."

Fawkes just tilted his head, and glided onto Harry's shoulder, and started what Harry could only describe as humming. _Both as barmy as each other, _thought Harry. _At least they're well suited._

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_My Aunt and I went shopping earlier today, and I saw three Death Eaters reflected in a shop door. We managed to sneak out through the back of the shop, and we got a taxi straight home. We just got back and we're safe now, but I think I need to understand exactly what this protection does, and who it applies to._

_If Uncle Vernon thinks I'm putting them in more danger after this, I'm not sure how long they'll let me stay. They've been acting really strange. I need to be able to explain all of this to them, but I can't unless I know the facts myself._

_Harry Potter_

Harry folded up his letter to Dumbledore, put it in an envelope, and gave it to Fawkes.

"I'm sorry to use you as a messenger, but it's important that Professor Dumbledore gets this. You really are a beautiful Phoenix you know."

Fawkes bowed his head to Harry, and disappeared in a flash of flame. Harry turned around and left his room to go and speak to his Aunt. What he didn't notice however, was the shining golden feather coated in a pearly substance that Fawkes had left behind, which was now floating lazily down to the ground. Low voices could just be heard from downstairs, and the unseen guardian rose from her customary position next to Harry's bed, and walked across the room. She slowly bent down, and as if she was handling a newborn baby, she gently lifted the glistening feather from where it had rested on the ground.

"Harry my boy, you have no idea just how lucky you are. I'll keep this safe until you know what to do with it, or else you'll turn it into a quill or something."

Saera straightened, and smiling to herself, she traced a pattern in the air, and disappeared through the newly created portal, only to return a few seconds later.

"Although, I don't envy him. He needs all the luck he can get. Imagine! Forcing a child to do an elders work! He deserves some tools along the way. Such a nice boy, I do hope he succeeds, I'd miss him if he passed on."

That said, Saera sat back down in her transparent chair, brought a transparent book out of her pocket, and settled down to read.

(A/N: I know it's been a while, but here's a nice long chapter. I know it drags on a bit, but I'm one of these people that reads extremely fast and is disappointed when details are missed, so my writing will be the same way. I'll give my readers every advantage I can to help them understand my thoughts and ideas, because I get the feeling that by the end of this story, a lot of the smaller details, especially about Harry's emotions, will come together for the ultimate ending. Things will pick up around his birthday, and that's all the clues you're getting! Feel free to let me know what you think!)


	4. Chapter 4

(Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters from the Harry Potter series of books are not my characters, I just borrowed them for the purposes of this story. I don't plan to make any money with this story, and I don't want to print it either, except for personal backup purposes. The other characters however are mine, and I'll do with them as I please. Although I'm going to do that with JK's characters too I guess, but yeah, don't sue me.)

Harry mentally prepared himself for the confrontation he was sure he was about to walk into. He entered the living room to find a sight that was most unexpected though; Aunt Petunia was sitting on the large sofa, her legs curled underneath her, shaking like a leaf so that the cup of tea she held in her hands sloshed over the side, but she didn't seem to notice. There were silent tears streaming down the sides of her face, which had gone a pasty colour of white. Harry hurried over to her, and took the cup from her hands, and as he did so he saw that Aunt Petunia's fingers were a nasty red, but she didn't seem to notice that either.

"Aunt Petunia, I know it's been an eventful day, but you've burnt your fingers! See, look, they're all red now," said Harry, in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

"This sort of thing happens to you often doesn't it? Or you were at least expecting it," whispered Aunt Petunia.

"It happens fairly often I suppose, I usually get into trouble at the end of every school year, but Voldemort has been exposed now. He and his followers have no reason to hide. I'm going to get you some water to bath your hand in, and some burn cream ok?"

Aunt Petunia nodded, so Harry got a bowl of water, a cloth, and the burn cream. He came back to the living room to find his Aunt hadn't moved, and even when he placed the bowl of water in front of her, she sat as still as a statue. Harry gently placed his Aunt's hands into the bowl. She winced slightly.

"Aunt Petunia, I wrote a letter to my school's headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, and I sent it with the most secure form of transport I could think of. Hopefully he will reply soon. The main thing is that we are alright, we got home safely, and we'll stay that way. Voldemort probably knows roughly where I'm staying, but as far as I know he can't come near this house, so he probably got tipped off by someone, and sent a few low level Death Eaters to check it out. I'll know more when Professor Dumbledore replies."

Aunt Petunia nodded again, but stayed silent.

"Are you ok Aunt Petunia?"

Before she could answer, there was a sharp knock at the door, and Harry thought he could hear Fawkes 'humming' a tune from somewhere nearby, so ignoring his Aunt's startled yelp, and the water that had sloshed out of the bowl, he jumped up to answer the door. When Harry opened the door, it was to see an old man with a bushy beard, half-moon spectacles, a walking stick, and a parrot perched on his shoulder. If that wasn't bad enough, he was wearing a bright red suit with white trims. Harry noticed that a few of the neighbours were looking out of their windows at the strangely dressed man on their doorstep, so Harry invited him inside.

When the man stepped inside, Harry quickly closed the door behind him.

"Thanks for coming Professor, maybe you can help me with something since you're here," said Harry. Dumbledore frowned.

"You knew it was me? Oh well, what gave it away?" asked Dumbledore, his clothes, appearance and Fawkes changing back to their 'normal' state.

"I don't know anyone else who would knock on the door dressed as a cross between a pirate and Santa Claus, sir," replied Harry, not quite managing to keep the grin off his face.

"Oh dear, I knew there was something off about my outfit. Ah well, maybe next time. What can I help you with?" asked Dumbledore curiously.

Harry motioned towards the living room, where Aunt Petunia was still sitting with her hands in the bowl of cold water.

"Oh dear. Oh dear dear dear! This wont do. Not at all! Have you been confunded dear? Were you hit by a stray curse? Hmm. Maybe she has been petrified Harry, I'll-"

"No! She's just scared Professor! She has every right to be too! I need you to help me explain about this protection, but like I said, I can't explain it if I don't know the details myself. I know the protection lasts for a year and has to be renewed by my staying here, but other than that, I'm not sure," said Harry rapidly.

Dumbledore took a clean hanky out of his pocket, and wiped some sweat from his brow.

"Perhaps some tea is in order," said Dumbledore heavily.

Harry made to go to the kitchen, but was stopped.

"Harry, you may be underage and restricted, but I haven't been for a very long time. I also happen to be a wizard who can conjure tea. Sit down my boy, this could take a while."

Dumbledore looked resigned at this point, and looked at his watch for just over a minute. Harry was just about to ask if the old man was alright, when Dumbledore nodded to himself, tucked his watch into a random fold in his robes and cleared his throat.

"That watch I was just looking at is keyed to the protections that exist around you and your relatives, Harry, some of which are my own and some of which are controlled by something that exists within you."

Harry was confused already at this point, but nodded for the old Professor to carry on, hoping that things would become clearer. Dumbledore looked down at his hand and frowned, then with an "Ah!" he raised one crooked finger at Harry and started rummaging in his robes for something.

"If you're looking for your watch sir, you put it in that fold there," said Harry, pointing towards the fold that he'd seen the watch disappear into only a minute before.

"Ah thank you Harry, there are so many pockets in this thing… all bottomless too…" and after a few more rummages, the watch was back in the old Professors hand.

"Usually it's on a chain you see, but I lost the chain in my pocket this morning. I could conjure a new one, but conjured chains don't tend to be as durable. It's better to buy these important things, but I just haven't had the time… Anyway, this first face here, shows the strength of the wards that I cast on this house myself, a few nights after you were placed on the Dursley's doorstep when I realised that Voldemort's followers would come looking for you. Now these wards are keyed to you Harry, your Aunt-" Dumbledore nodded towards Petunia, "-and your cousin. They couldn't be keyed to your Uncle Vernon, as for some reason the magic wouldn't let me. I had to build the wards to incorporate your blood you see, because the sacrifice your mother made left a trace of itself in your blood. That is how Voldemort couldn't touch you, until he made himself a new body using your blood."

"Sir, it just says 'Three Quarters', what does that mean?", asked Harry.

"It means precisely what it says Harry, the wards I placed on this home are three quarters renewed. When it says 'Full' that is when I begin making plans for you to be transferred somewhere else, as my wards cannot be fully charged until the magic that resides in you is satisfied. The more interaction you have with this family, and the more you are welcomed, the less time it takes for the wards to recharge. The less confident your magic is that you will be safe, the longer it takes for my wards to take effect to their full power. Your magic recognises your mother's blood however, so your magic strengthens my wards to the level they need to be anyway, in order to protect its own. Unfortunately, you have not been welcomed into this home, so instead of taking hours to recharge, the wards take weeks."

Aunt Petunia looked guilty at this. She lifted her head and looked Dumbledore in the eye.

"We didn't ask for him to be left here, and you didn't ask us. I know why your wards don't work so well. I also know why Vernon isn't keyed in properly. Harry's magic stops anyone that means harm from coming to this house, but it can't stop Vernon because he lives here. Harry's magic is like Harry, it wouldn't throw a person out of their own home," Aunt Petunia said quietly, never removing her gaze from Dumbledore's eyes. Harry was completely shocked that his Aunt Petunia would know even the tiniest bit about magic, whereas Dumbledore just nodded, as if he already knew.

"Aunt Petunia, how can you know that?" asked Harry.

Harry's Aunt shifted her gaze so that it now rested on Harry's eyes.

"When you were a baby, Vernon tried to stop you from destroying the house. You said he was a bad man, and your eyes flashed. It was two days after we found you; you woke up screaming, calling for your Mummy…

--

_November 1981, The Dursley Household_

Petunia and Vernon Dursley were sitting in the living room of their new three bedroom home, playing with their son, who was now eighteen months old. The child was large, but was cute in his own way, with a round face that lit up with joy when he was thrown in the air, and then caught by his father. Suddenly there was a loud noise from upstairs, where another child was supposedly resting.

Petunia quickly ran upstairs, followed by Vernon who was still holding little Dudley. Petunia went inside the room first, and what she saw made her stop in her tracks and stare at the destruction before her.

The cot that the child had been placed in was bent and twisted out of shape, the bars melting into each other in places. Toys were in pieces on the floor, walls, and in the air, and there was a small frightened child tucked into the corner of the room. Pieces of stuffed toys were floating around his head, and the child had a wild look to his eyes, and was clearly panicking. He looked Petunia in the eye.

"Wan' Mummy. Mummy Mummy Mummy! Mummyyyyy!" and with that, the child dissolved into a mass of sobs, and started rocking back and forward. The toys started spinning faster, and a piece of stuffing set alight.

"Bad man. Bad! Geen. Bye bye Mummy."

Petunia got as close to the child as she dared, and spoke softly to him.

"Harry, Mummy and Daddy passed on. They've gone to heaven now. They're up there with everyone else who has passed on, they're not alone, and neither are you. We'll look after you now," she said, stretching her arm out towards the child.

Harry's breathing had gotten harsher, and it seemed that on some level the child understood that he would never see his mother or father again. Harry retreated inside himself, and was shaking uncontrollably by now. He was choking back sobs, tugging on his messy hair, and he flinched as the toys around his head started losing control, and started either launching themselves across the room or exploding inches from his face. There were no burns on the boy, though, and he didn't even blink.

At this point Vernon had turned a strange shade of puce. He looked around at the mess in the room; the broken toys that had been bought only the day before for the new child, and the scorch marks on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

A vein on the side of his neck started pulsing. Dudley started crying.

"ENOUGH!" he roared at Harry's shaking form. The toys stopped flying and exploding, fires were extinguished by themselves, and Harry stopped rocking. Harry looked up into the eyes of his Uncle. Vernon tried to look away but couldn't, as he seemed to be locked in place by an unseen force. Harry was unmoving by this stage. He just kept on staring straight into Vernon's eyes. Suddenly, the small child's irises flashed a dazzling silver, with flecks of colour swirling in their depths, and then reverted back to their usual emerald green. Dudley was lifted out of Vernon's arms and floated across the room to Petunia, who had started whimpering herself at seeing those eyes, and Dudley hanging in mid air. Dudley started screaming when he realised this wasn't part of a game. Vernon however, was lifted into the air and slammed into the wall behind him, pinned in place by Harry's magic.

"Bad man. No 'urt 'arry," whispered the small child.

Vernon started sputtering nonsense from his place on the wall, all the while getting angrier and angrier at the child that was still sitting in the corner. He could safely say he hated the child by now, first spending all that money on the little freak, then seeing everything destroyed only a day later because his stupid parents had gotten themselves killed, and landed his respectable family with this… well, freak. He'd known it wouldn't be long before some hocus-pocus happened, but this was unacceptable! He wouldn't have the neighbours finding out about this abnormality, and condemning the whole family for this one mistake!

"Harry! Please child, let him down!" pleaded Petunia.

Vernon slid to the floor in a heap. He calmly walked across the room towards Harry, and slapped the child soundly across the face.

"Don't you ever use your silly tricks in this house again you little freak, you understand? You live with US now, you follow OUR rules! You parents are dead, they're not coming back! You're stuck here until you're old enough to be thrown out. You're not getting this room, look what you did to it, you don't deserve it! You're not getting any toys either, look what you did to those! You don't deserve anything. We're taking you in out of the goodness of our hearts, just you remember that boy!"

Vernon seemed to forget that he was talking to a 13 month old magical child who had just seen his mother murdered in front of his eyes. Vernon grabbed the terrified child's arm, and dragged him forcefully down the stairs, bumping him along the way, and threw him into the cupboard that was to be the little boy's home for the next ten years of his life.

"You will stay in there boy, there isn't much you can break in there, have fun!" Vernon aimed a kick at the boy before slamming the door shut and padlocking it.

Petunia was still upstairs having heard everything, but not knowing what to do, and trying to quiet her son. In truth she felt sorry for the little boy who had caused this chaos, and as she looked around at the destruction, and then at her own infant son, she knew she had to protect her own first.

--

"I'm sorry Harry, I knew you were terribly upset, but what should I have done? I'm just a muggle. Even as a child you were so powerful, you could have levelled this house with your distress, and the only thing we could think of was to literally stamp it out of you. I didn't agree with the way Vernon did things, I always thought he was a bit harsh, but I hardly ever hit you did I? I… I just tried to ignore you - I thought that if I pretended you didn't exist, it wouldn't feel so bad… I wouldn't feel so bad. I was scared of what you could do, what it could do to the family. Vernon thought that if we could teach you that there was no such thing as magic, then you wouldn't think to use it. Even as a baby you were right though, Vernon was and is a bad man. I do love him though. I would never leave him. I see the good parts of him. He works so hard for his family." Aunt Petunia was in tears.

"Aunt Petunia, I'm sorry for what I did, but I can't even remember doing it. I was a baby, and although I understand you were scared, so was I. You could have given me a break when I was older! Or at least during the day when he wasn't here!" Harry exclaimed.

"No I couldn't Harry, by that time things had gotten into a routine, and even Dudley was involved. If we had treated you boys the same, Dudley might be a better person, but unfortunately he's taken after his father. It all spiralled out of control. I felt bad sometimes, but I admit I saw you more as an inconvenience than part of the family. There were times that I thought that maybe if we treated you really badly, more of your kind would come to take you away. The more that went wrong with this family, the more we needed to blame on you. I know we were wrong. I'm the one that convinced Vernon that we had to be nice to you from now on, I got some money from him to buy you new things, and he agrees that you should take evening classes too. I know it can't make up for your childhood, but at least we're trying to make the rest of your stay as pleasant as possible."

Harry was looking down at his feet, and was barely heard when he spoke.

"Better late than never eh? Years in a cupboard, not being let out to go to the toilet, being treated worse than an animal, being starved and hit… you've got a lot of unpleasantness to make up for. As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to be disturbed by any of you, I'll eat my meals downstairs, but otherwise I'll either be outside or in my room. The fact that your husband is a pig, and your son will end up in jail, and you will end up alone, is punishment enough – now that your conscience has kicked in. In trying to 'squash' my magic, you've made me a better person, and turned yourselves into monsters in the process."

Dumbledore had been silent through the exchange, he'd looked solemn the whole time, and when Harry had finished speaking, there was a tear slowly making its way into his beard.

"Harry, your relatives are not the only ones to blame. I should have checked on you. At the time I knew you were special, and I too was saddened by the loss of your parents, but please understand you were not the only orphan from the first war, and I didn't check on any of them either. To me you were a future student that had been placed in the care of your relatives, that had a nasty prophecy over his head, and I thought that I had protected you to the best of my abilities. I'm sorry to admit that I failed, and for that, you have my sincerest apologies. I will help you as much as I can on the path that you are fated to walk, and not just because I feel guilt. I feel that over the last few years, I have gotten to know you as a person, and I admire you for who you are, not for doing something that you can't even remember, even if it changed the world for the better. Again Harry, I am sorry." Dumbledore looked straight into Harry's eyes as he said the last sentence, searching for forgiveness that he felt he didn't deserve. He had told the truth, and waited for Harry's reply.

"I understand your reasoning Professor, but _someone_ should have checked. I'm a magical child that was placed with muggle relatives, who had just been through some severe trauma. Aunt Petunia was right, if I had completely lost control, there's no telling what I could have done. There should have been a system in place to support my Aunt and Uncle."

"I know that now Harry. I only checked the watch to see the level of the wards, and since you were living there all the time, they were always full, so I assumed that you were alright. Obviously I was wrong. There is no department within the ministry that deals with magical children raised in a muggle environment, but after hearing about what happened when you lost control as a child, and the effects of that on both yourself and your relatives, I feel that it's time that such a department existed. I also happen to have a lot of influence within the ministry, so as soon as Minister Fudge starts to see sense, I will make the proposal. Do you mind if I use your experience as an example? I will not name you, seeing as I know you don't particularly like the attention."

Harry thought that Dumbledore sounded sincere with his words, and he wished he had Shara with him so that he could tell for sure, but Harry decided to trust the old man.

"I don't mind you using it, just be sure nobody knows it was me. The last thing I need is the newspapers getting a hold of any of this. Do you have any idea who would run such a department sir?" Harry asked curiously. He had a person in mind, but wanted to see if Dumbledore knew someone else that would do a better job, although he doubted it. Aunt Petunia even looked interested in the proposal.

"I was thinking that a certain Arthur Weasley would be ideal for the job. I know he loves his children dearly, and the compassion that he and his family have shown you has astounded me. He has raised his children well, and I think that in any situation, Arthur would be fair and try to help everyone, not just the child, as he will understand that most muggles fear what their magical children can do," said Professor Dumbledore confidently.

"I agree sir, I was thinking of him too. Anyone that can raise Fred and George without being permanently maimed, or at least disfigured, deserves some respect sir."

Dumbledore chuckled, and turned to Harry's Aunt.

"Petunia dear, are you feeling any better?"

"Yes thank you, it's a load off my chest, and I can only wish that something had been available to help us all those years ago," and indeed, Petunia had a bit more colour in her cheeks, and had started to apply the burn cream to her hands herself.

"In that case, we should go back to the subject at hand. Like I said, the first face on this watch shows the status of my wards protecting number 4 Privet Drive. Now if I push this button here, there is another face."

Dumbledore held out the watch on the palm of his hand, and sure enough, as he pushed a button on the side of the watch (the one usually used to move clock hands), the first face dissolved and was replaced by a second face, which wasn't so much a face, as a pool of swirling colours. The pool was mostly green, with strands of purple, blue and red swirling through it, much like a small multicoloured pensieve.

"To be honest, I haven't figured out what all of the colours mean yet. I know that mainly green means that your own innate defences are dormant, and that the purple, blue and red symbolise different functions of your innate wards, and I have an alarm set for if the watch were to change colours. It has only done so twice if I remember correctly, and the most recent was when you were at school. Do you remember the time you were being chased by bullies, and you ended up on the roof Harry?"

"Yes sir," replied Harry, annoyed that the incident had been brought up in the first place.

"That was your inner defences. Your magic sensed that you were in danger, and transported you to the nearest place where it thought you would be safe, which unfortunately happened to be the roof of your primary school."

"So what you're saying is that my magic doesn't just protect me from Voldemort, but anyone who tries to hurt me?" Dumbledore nodded.

"So what about Uncle Vernon, he hurt me loads of times, and nothing happened, except that first time?" asked Harry sceptically.

"Like your Aunt mentioned before, your magic wouldn't do anything to harm the people from your own household, it recognised that you were a… shall we say 'guest' in their home, and therefore refused to act on your behalf. Voldemort on the other hand… Before you entered your first year, I had no idea what your magic would do. I didn't anticipate you being able to literally turn him to ash with your hands, but then age makes you complacent… I should learn not to be surprised really. I knew that your magic would protect you, but I never imagined that it would attack him."

"Do you know why my magic is different professor? I don't seem any better than anyone else in my year." said Harry.

"Your magic is different, not better. I believe that your magic is more in tune with its surroundings than even my own is. Your magic sensed that Voldemort had killed the person that had protected you and loved you since birth; it sensed the life and magic leaving her body, and awakened a part of you that would have stayed dormant had you grown up without that horror. At the same time, your mother's magic sacrificed a part of itself through the amount of love she held for you, and her piece of magic merged with your own to form the level of protection needed to resist the killing curse, effectively turning it back on it's caster, leaving you with that scar, and rendering Voldemort as nothing more than a mere spirit. Your scar is what both links you to, and protects you from, Voldemort.

"Each time you meet him, your magic is heightened to amazing levels, even though you may not notice it, or be able to use it yet. The residual magic left in your scar is a permanent reminder to your magic of exactly who killed your mother, and that is why you are the only one who will be able to rid us of Voldemort for good. Your magic despises him so much that one day when you meet him; something will happen that will prevent Voldemort from ever returning to this existence."

Harry had tears streaming down the sides of his face, he'd already seen what happened that night because of the dementors from third year, but to have it described so graphically and to have the actual images in his mind to match with the words made it a whole lot more real than it ever had been. Something told him that the old professor's hypothesis was entirely accurate.

"I saw and heard what happened when the dementors where near, but I didn't understand it. In a way I wish I didn't now," Harry choked out.

"Harry, what I just told you should not give you cause to be sad. What you saw in the mirror of Erised in your first year, your deepest desire was to have your parents with you. Now you know for sure that at least a little part of your mothers magic is with you always, and that it's been protecting you all these years. To me, that is reason to be happy. She's not with you physically, but before dying she gave you a part of herself, that will _always be there,_ until the day that you yourself pass on. Hopefully that day is far into the future! Oh dear, I forgot all about that tea."

Dumbledore waved his wand, and a tea tray appeared in mid air. Another wave, and three teacups appeared. A flick and a twist, and tea started pouring out of the tip of Dumbledore's wand, directed by goodness knows what but the wand was nowhere near the teacups… and yet every last drop made it's way into them. A few more casual flicks and twists, a pot of milk and a few lumps of sugar appeared.

"Help yourselves! Lemon drop anyone?" Dumbledore asked jovially. Harry declined the offer, but Aunt Petunia accepted.

"**_Accio_** lemon drops! That should save some rummaging!"

Suddenly there was a great tearing sound, and a bag of lemon drops appeared from a newly formed hole in the front of Dumbledore's robes, revealing an off-white vest underneath. Dumbledore turned bright red, and looked over to where Harry was now collapsed back on the chair, holding his stomach, and laughing so hard that there were fresh tears in his eyes. Dumbledore just smiled at the sight, and tried to remember the last time the boy had laughed like that, before frowning back down at the hole in his otherwise rather majestic robes.

"Ah, no matter! **_Reparo,_**" and sure enough, the next time Harry looked over, it was as if the hole was never there. Aunt Petunia was nervously hiding a grin behind her teacup.

Fawkes however, was gazing directly into Harry's eyes, and when Harry looked back at the phoenix, Dumbledore swore he'd seen the boy's eyes flicker silver for just an instant… but dismissed it as imagination, after all, that was one amazing story he'd just heard.

Once Harry had collected himself, he remembered that there were a couple of questions he needed to ask.

"Sir, my Aunt mentioned martial arts classes, and swimming and running too. Am I safe outside this house?"

"Once you leave the boundaries of this property, you are no longer protected by my own wards, but if you are with your cousin or your Aunt, then the blood protection still applies," replied Professor Dumbledore.

"That's fine, I'll sign Dudley up for the same classes as Harry, it should help him exercise and maybe lose some weight at the same time. That way if there's any trouble, they should both be alright," said Aunt Petunia.

"That should be fine Petunia," Professor Dumbledore said, nodding and smiling.

"Sir, I have another question. What would have happened if those Death Eaters had attacked us?" Harry really wanted to know exactly what his own protection was capable of.

"Harry, do you remember I said that the second face on this watch had only changed colours twice?" Harry nodded.

"What happened the first time, sir? I don't remember apparating except the incident that was mentioned before."

"I'll answer this one Professor, I was with him at the time," spoke Aunt Petunia in a quiet voice.

"Go ahead then Petunia." Dumbledore relaxed in his seat, and started refilling the teacups, which were all empty by now.

"There was one time when I was taking both you and Dudley to a baby group, when you were about two and a half. We didn't like the group that was close by, so I used to take you both to a baby group that was across town. There were always strangely dressed people that recognised you in the street, and stopped to say hello to you. I guessed at the time that they were witches and wizards of course. Well, one wizard recognised you, and you wouldn't go near him. You kept shouting 'No!' and hiding behind my legs, which was strange because you usually liked to talk to people. I hurried you past him and apologised, saying you were just grumpy. Five minutes later, a group of four Death Eaters with white masks came out of an alleyway further down the street we were on, and started shooting spells at us. Next thing I know, you grabbed me and Dudley, and a huge shimmering blue dome fell over our heads, and nothing they fired got through. Then some sort of energy started building up just inside the dome, and one of the Death Eaters was hit by what looked like lightning. The rest of the Death Eaters vanished after that, taking their fallen friend with them. Neither you or Dudley has ever remembered it." Harry couldn't help but be impressed by himself at this point, it sounded like something out of one of Dudley's comic books.

"Unfortunately I never found out who those Death Eaters were, and although difficult, lightning strikes are a lot easier to fix with magic, so I assume the other Death Eaters healed him rather than leave him to be taken to St Mungo's, where he or she could expose them all. They couldn't have just killed him either, as the disappearance would have been too coincidental," said Dumbledore regretfully.

"Sir, do you know how the Death Eaters knew where we were today?" asked Harry.

"I've asked my spy in Voldemort's ranks, and he assures me that no action of the sort you described was ordered by Voldemort himself, so it seems to me that this scenario was similar to the last encounter. If Voldemort had sent those Death Eaters after you, they would have been far more skilled and you would have probably been forced to defend yourselves. I think that a random Voldemort sympathiser recognised you for who you are, and got a couple of his friends to try to kidnap you to gain favour with their Lord. If you wear a hat when you're out, it should help a bit. It's the hair and your scar that give you away the most you know, your eyes are unique but people do not tend to remember the colour of a person's eyes when they walk past."

Aunt Petunia gave an exclamation from where she was sitting, and quickly jumped up and started replacing things on the tea tray.

"Vernon will be home soon! Harry, you must not speak of this to him! He wouldn't like it at all! Professor, I'm sorry, but it would be best if you left. Thanks for the tea, and for the explanations. A lot of things are clearer now, and I think I understand Harry a bit better for it, but you really must go before Vernon gets back! He's due any minute! Harry, see your Headmaster to the door, then it would be best if you go to your room, at least for a little while. You have a lot to think about anyway."

Harry jumped up as Dumbledore started vanishing the tea set, and Aunt Petunia started bustling around, straightening furniture and putting the kettle on for when Uncle Vernon got home. Harry showed Professor Dumbledore to the door, and when he turned round to say his goodbye's to the Professor, he saw that Dumbledore's suit was now a plain brown, although Fawkes was still a parrot, and the beard and walking stick were the same.

"Thanks for explaining sir. I have a lot to think about. Your clothes are better this time by the way, although it's a shame that muggles aren't allowed to see Fawkes as he truly is," said Harry quickly as he opened the door.

"Thank you Harry, I too have learned a lot this day. That doesn't happen often to an old man you know! In fact I might even need a nap… One thing before I go. I have asked Fawkes to answer you if you call for him; it seems he had already planned to do so, but now… If you need him for anything at all, just call and I'm sure he will answer. Even if you just need your spirits lifted, Fawkes loves sharing his beautiful music… Until next time Harry!"

Harry watched as Professor Dumbledore turned out of the Dursley's front garden and walked past the house next door, and then disappeared behind the next garden's hedge, swinging his stick along the way.

Harry quietly closed the door, and ran upstairs to his room. He closed the door behind him and opened his window a bit further. As he did so, he saw Dumbledore disappear round the corner at the end of the street, just before Uncle Vernon's car turned in.

"Uncle Vernon's back!" Harry shouted to his Aunt. He could hear her rushing to start dinner, and Harry decided that it would be nice to just lie on his bed and think of nothing after all he'd been told. He'd think about it all later, after his brain had rested, and his stomach had at least been filled. He lay down, pulled his pillow out from under his head and stuck on top of his face instead. Harry sighed, and two minutes later, he was snoring.

"Busy day for your brain huh? Sucks to be you," and with that, Saera carried on reading her book.

(A/N: Yes, I know that seems like a hell of a lot of info for only the fourth chapter, but since there's a hell of a lot of plot to come, I decided that a) Harry deserves to know for once, and b) it helps to explain how magic works in my own mind, for later use in the story. The plot will be a lot easier to digest - hope you don't get constipation - if you readers know how the hell the stuff works in the first place.)


	5. Chapter 5

(Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters from the Harry Potter series of books are not my characters, I just borrowed them for the purposes of this story. I don't plan to make any money with this story, and I don't want to print it either, except for personal backup purposes. The other characters however are mine, and I'll do with them as I please. Although I'm going to do that with JK's characters too I guess, but yeah, don't sue me.)

Harry awoke an hour later to a knock on his bedroom door.

"Harry, dinner will be ready in ten minutes so I suggest you go and clean yourself up! I saw the state of your hands earlier!" Aunt Petunia's voice said from the other side of the door.

"I'll be down shortly Aunt Petunia," said Harry as he looked down at his hands. Sure enough, his hands had a few ink splotches from writing his letter to Dumbledore earlier. Out of habit, Harry got up and headed towards the bathroom once he was sure that Aunt Petunia had gone downstairs.

Five minutes later saw a different boy leave the bathroom. Physically he looked the same, but on his face there was a look of contemplation and confusion that looked extremely out of place on a person that looked so young.

_If my magic protects me, then why didn't those Death Eater's at the ministry get zapped? If my magic did that when I was younger, then I should have been able to stop them from killing Sirius..._

The look on Harry's faced had changed dramatically with that thought, and so it was a very despondent Harry that sat down at the Dursley's dining table. Aunt Petunia gave him a sympathetic look as she placed a good sized portion of fish and chips under his nose.

"Eat up Harry, no matter what's going on inside that strange head of yours, you still need to eat."

"Strange indeed," muttered Uncle Vernon, from across the table. Harry guessed correctly that his Uncle hadn't meant to say that particular thought out loud, but decided that he'd rather know what they were truly thinking. He was fed up of being kept in the dark about things concerning him, and to hear his Uncle saying what was on his mind was actually quite refreshing for once, and instead of making him feel left out, the comment actually made Harry feel more _normal_. So many things had happened; so many things had changed... Dumbledore had been true to his word and had told him what he wanted to know, but Harry found that instead of explaining everything, only some things had been explained, and there were yet more questions he didn't know the answers to.

Once he'd started eating, Harry found that he was actually really hungry, and managed to finish his dinner not too long after Dudley.

"If you boys are still hungry, I could make you both a plate of sandwiches if you want?" offered Aunt Petunia. Dudley nodded eagerly, whereas Harry replied quietly with a polite, "That would be nice, thanks Aunt Petunia."

Aunt Petunia gave Harry an odd look before finishing her meal and disappearing into the kitchen. Uncle Vernon had finished not long after Harry, and was determinedly reading his newspaper.

Harry put his head on his hands and stared at his half empty glass of juice, trying to find the answers he was so desperately seeking. The problem was, he had no idea which question to ask himself first. It was as if his thoughts were swirling around in his brain, just like the juice in his glass.

_Wait a minute!_

Sure enough, when Harry looked at his glass, what juice was left was swirling round madly, steadily rising up the side of the glass, like a whirlpool. Harry did the only thing he could think of; he grabbed the glass of juice and gulped it down. He glanced up once he had finished, and was relieved to see that Uncle Vernon was still hidden behind his newspaper. Dudley however, looked slightly traumatised. Harry just shrugged his shoulders and mimed a fly making it's way into his mouth. Dudley's jaw snapped shut with an audible _click._ His eyes were still almost bulging out of their sockets, though.

"Here's your sandwiches boys, help yourselves. Is everything alright Dudley, you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Aunt Petunia put the sandwiches on the table then started fussing over Dudley, checking his forehead for signs of fever. Harry picked up a sandwich and rolled his eyes, making sure nobody was looking this time.

"Argh, Mum, get off me! Look, it's nothing ok, I just remembered there's another essay I have to do before school starts, and Piers has the books I need for it. That's all!" said Dudley indignantly, whilst batting away his mother's hand.

"Are you sure Dudley, you did look pretty shocked," said Aunt Petunia suspiciously, her arms folded across her chest.

"It's a big essay Mum, in fact I should probably go get those books now," replied Dudley, getting out of his seat and putting his trainers on.

"Don't be back later than nine Dudley, we're renting a film tonight, and HOW many times do I have to tell you to undo those laces instead of forcing your feet into them! That's how they get ruined!"

"Sorry Mum!"

Soon after that the front door slammed shut. Aunt Petunia grimaced, and went back to the kitchen, grumbling about how many times she'd told Dudley not to slam the doors too.

Harry managed to finish most of the sandwiches himself, and having already finished his juice, he quietly sneaked down from the table and upstairs to his room.

"Harry, would you like some more jui-" Aunt Petunia stopped herself mid sentence, once she realised that Harry was no longer at the table. She heard the faint click of his bedroom door closing, and once again retreated into the kitchen, this time muttering about how if it wasn't one banging around all the time, it was the other sneaking off all the time.

"Bugger him," said Uncle Vernon, and with that said, he returned to reading the finance section of his paper, and Aunt Petunia pretended she hadn't heard him.

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Once safely inside his room, Harry once again brought out his quill, ink, and parchment, and sat down to write.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_Thank you for explaining exactly why I have to put up with these people. I have lots of questions but I think most of the answers are fairly simple, I just need to process it all a bit more. One question that disturbs me the most though, is this: If my magic protects me from Death Eaters, then why couldn't I do more at the ministry? Shouldn't I have been able to save everyone?_

_I know that no matter what the answer is, it can't change anything, but from what I can tell, that blue dome with all the lightning would have been really handy. Do you know if there's any way I can call on it when it's needed, instead of just hoping it'll turn up before something really bad happens? _

_I don't really want to fry the Death Eaters, but at the same time, if it's self defence…it's not like I have much else at the moment._

_Harry Potter_

As soon as Harry had finished signing his name at the bottom of the letter, there was a brilliant orange flash, and Fawkes appeared in mid air this time, instead of on the bed. Harry promptly fell off his chair in surprise, knocking over his inkpot, and cracking his head off the corner of the desk before slumping to the floor, darkness slowly taking over his vision. _Owww… That's going to leave one hell of a bump._

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Petunia was in the kitchen, preparing that night's dessert, and fixing up some snacks for with the film they were going to watch that night. She'd included a few new unusual treats that she thought Harry might like, but not too many, in case Vernon thought it suspicious. At first, she was unhappy that Dumbledore had turned up, but thinking back on the conversation she had to admit that she felt a lot lighter than she had since the boy – no, Harry – was found on their doorstep all those years ago. The worst thing of all was coming to terms with the fact that in a lot of ways, she wished he was her own son.

Harry was polite, well behaved, quiet, and he didn't ask for much. Dudley was leader of a gang, threw tantrums like a spoilt child, overweight, and was as ungrateful for what he had as Harry was grateful. She also knew from his earlier school grades that Harry was extremely intelligent, good at art and music, but because of Vernon he had made himself seem below average, so as not to outclass Dudley. It was a shame in many ways. Petunia remembered once when Harry came home from school, when he was about six years old, with the most beautiful picture she had ever seen. It was a picture of Lily; her face showed nothing but defiance, and her eyes… those eyes. They had sparkled with an inner fire all of their own. She looked like she was defending someone, as her hair had always had the annoying habit of gaining a life of it's own in those situations. The ends would float, as if there was a static charge in the air… Harry's drawing had captured the moment perfectly. When she had looked down at the little boy, he had simply stated that this was his angel and that Aunt Petunia could keep it, and maybe his angel would guard her too. He'd crawled into his cupboard and been quiet as a mouse until Vernon got home. Vernon had noticed that she'd been crying, and he'd seen the picture that Harry had drawn. He'd gone to the cupboard, and ripped up the picture in front of the b… Harry's… face, and thrown the pieces at him. Petunia remembered hearing little sniffs every time she'd walked past the cupboard for the rest of the night, and when Harry was asleep, she'd gone in and rescued the pieces, and she still had them in a box somewhere. Needless to say, he'd never come back from school with another picture again.

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She'd just put the apple pie in the oven when she heard a crash and a _thud_ from upstairs, and then silence. Vernon was outside talking to someone across the street about their new car or something, so Petunia grabbed the sharpest knife she could find, and quietly made her way upstairs. There was scuffling behind Harry's door, and mustering every ounce of courage she possessed, she slowly pushed the door open, and gaped at the sight in front of her.

Dumbledore's bird was _carrying _Harry through the air, he was unconscious, and there was a nasty looking bump on the side of his head. There was blood on the corner of his desk, and on the floor next to it, and Harry's hair was also shining with fresh blood.

Petunia stood in the doorway, and watched as Fawkes laid Harry down on the bed, and then cried tears into his wound. The bird then started hopping about in an anxious manner, all the while staring at Harry. Petunia was still speechless at this point, and she watched as Fawkes started to glow, and then cried tears into Harry's open mouth. Petunia took a step into the room, and then stopped again as Harry also started to glow golden, and she could hear a faint song that lifted her spirits, and she felt happier than she had in a long time. Fawkes joined in with the song, and as the song got louder, the glow around Harry intensified. Petunia slumped to a sitting position on the floor, knife lying forgotten by her side, and watched as Harry opened his eyes and sat up. His eyes were silver, and the golden glow had reduced to a mist that surrounded the boy, as if protecting him. The lump on his head was gone, and he looked healthier than she had ever seen him. Petunia was beyond words and could do nothing but sit and watch. It was at this time that the silver-eyed Harry noticed that she was in the room, and very slowly, Petunia stood up from the floor, knife in hand. In the blink of an eye, Petunia remembered nothing of the events that had taken place. Harry was once again green eyed, and the mist was gone. Fawkes was sitting next to Harry, also back to normal.

"I heard a noise from downstairs, is everything alright? It sounded like you fell."

"I'm alright Aunt Petunia, Fawkes arrived and gave me a shock, I remember falling off my chair and banging my head, but it feels fine… Fawkes must have healed me. Thanks Fawkes!" said Harry. The phoenix bobbed his head, and Harry stroked his feathers.

"How could err… Fawkes, have healed you?" asked Aunt Petunia curiously.

"Fawkes is a phoenix Aunt Petunia, he has healing tears. He's already saved my life once when I got a basilisk fang stuck in my arm. Honestly, I'm alright," replied Harry, rubbing his head.

"Alright then Harry. I'll let you know when we put the film on."

Aunt Petunia turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Thanks again Fawkes, I don't feel a thing. By the way, why are you here?" asked Harry curiously.

Fawkes hopped onto Harry's desk and stared pointedly at the letter Harry had just finished writing.

"Oh yeah! How could I forget… must have been some bump eh?"

Harry got up and walked towards his desk, where he noticed the blood that had run down his desk a bit, and the pool on the floor.

"Wow… with the amount of blood here, I'm surprised I still know my own name." It was then that he noticed that some of his hair was clumped together, so Harry decided it would be best to let Fawkes go on his way, and clean up the mess.

"You came as soon as I'd finished writing my name at the bottom… I knew you were smart, but now I know you're a lot smarter than people give you credit for."

Fawkes puffed out his chest proudly, and showed off the feathers on his crown to a laughing Harry.

"Keep going like that, and your ego will stop you from flying!" Harry said jokingly. Fawkes deflated a bit and looked at Harry indignantly.

"Anyway, I need to get all this cleaned up, and have a shower before I get called downstairs. Thanks for scaring me then fixing the damage my friend." At this, Fawkes looked apologetic, and shuffled around a bit. "Oh and of course, thank you for taking my question to Professor Dumbledore, he's probably worried about where you've gone," as he finished speaking, Harry put his letter into an envelope and addressed it.

"Not that you need an address of course, but I like doing it anyway. Reminds me how lucky I am to have people to write to!"

Fawkes took the letter in his talons, and disappeared with a wink and a burst of orange flames.

By the time Harry had finished showering and cleaning the mess in his room, it was almost time to go downstairs. He was just pulling a comb through his hair when there was a _tap tap tap_ on his bedroom door. Harry burst out laughing as soon as he saw who it was.

"Fawkes! I must say your manners have improved dramatically since the last time I saw you," said Harry. "Do come in sir!" he added in a false posh accent.

"Fawkes tittered and perched himself on the end of Harry's bed, having already dropped his scroll on the desk on his way past. Harry was still laughing as he picked up the scroll that Dumbledore had sent him, which was tied with red and gold ribbons.

_Dear Harry,_

_Enclosed you will find a portkey, set to activate at precisely ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I find that we'll benefit from not having any of your family around to, shall we say, complicate matters. I also have a few questions to ask of you, and in return I will do my best to answer any queries that you may put forth. There is also another matter that I need to discuss with you, and I'd rather you destroyed my office rather than your relative's home. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards _

_Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot_

_Order of Merlin First Class_

_Grand Sorcerer_

_P.S. Please excuse the fancy signature, I've just noticed I'm using the wrong quill. This one is charmed to fill in all of my titles automatically after I write my name…courtesy of the Ministry of course… quite annoying really. See you tomorrow Harry!_

Harry was intrigued to say the least. The part about him destroying Dumbledore's office again filled him with a sense of dread - the last time that had happened, his world had been turned upside down, not once, but twice in the same night. Harry didn't have time to think on the contents of his letter from Dumbledore however, as Aunt Petunia shouted him down to watch the film.

When Harry went downstairs, he saw that Uncle Vernon was sitting in his usual armchair, Aunt Petunia was sitting in the other armchair, and Dudley was taking up the entire sofa, so Harry settled on the floor with his back to the side furthest away from Dudley's head, but unfortunately right next to his feet. _If smelly feet are bad, then fat person's smelly feet are ten times worse. There I thought Seamus had the smelliest feet. A few more minutes of this, and I might just pass out. _Sure enough, after a few minutes, Harry decided that moving would be his best option, and so he sat in front of Aunt Petunia's chair instead.

"What are you doing boy, err, Harry?"

"Sorry Uncle Vernon but Dudley's feet smell really bad, so I moved away."

Aunt Petunia took a deep sniff, twisted her face, and then took a smaller sniff.

"Harry's right Vernon. Dudley, go and change your socks please, that's just foul."

Red faced, Dudley left the room and returned a few minutes later, this time with fresh socks, and stinking of aftershave instead. He again settled on the sofa, and Aunt Petunia put the film on.

Harry glanced at the case which said it was called _Men In Black_, which turned out to be brilliant in Harry's opinion. He'd have to tell Hermione to watch it when she got back from her holiday. He particularly liked the bit where most people didn't know another world existed; it was like the wizarding world, witches and wizards moved among muggles, aliens moved among humans.

Harry went to sleep that night feeling a little more welcome among those he loathed to call his relatives.

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The next day dawned, and brought with it floods of rain. As a particularly loud clap of thunder tore across the sky, Harry sat bolt upright in his bed, and his eyes darted to the open window. Hedwig was absent from her cage, and upon seeing the weather outside he grew worried for her safety. A glance at the clock told Harry that it was still early, and that not many people would be awake unless they too had been woken up by the thunder.

Harry padded barefoot across to his bedroom window, and poked his head out into the rain to see if he could see Hedwig in any of the surrounding trees. He couldn't see her anywhere, so he gave a short whistle, which would usually bring her out of hiding if she was nearby. Nothing. _Ah well, she's probably found a nice cubby hole to wait out the storm, at least I hope so, it's not like I can do anything anyway._

Harry tried to go back to sleep, but with the thunder and his worry over Hedwig, it was a futile attempt. Instead, he got up and decided he would read some more of his potions book. He was about half way through now, and already he understood a bit more about the subject and felt that he'd do reasonably better when school started again. Harry was beginning to see why Hermione read so many books, they were informative and made things easier to understand... but wiw what a headache.

Harry studied through his Uncle leaving for work. He also studied through Dudley getting up, and going out for the day to cause chaos with his friends. In fact, it wasn't until nine that Harry lifted his nose out of the potions book, and then decided it was time to go downstairs.

The truth of the matter was that Harry had decided he was going to ask Aunt Petunia if it would be ok for him to have an A4 muggle notebook and a pen. He'd realised that the textbook was actually a better teacher than Snape, and that it would be beneficial to take notes. However, he was low on parchment until he got the chance to go to Diagon Alley, and he preferred muggle stationary to keep his notes together, rather than having lots of scrolls of parchment everywhere. The last time he had actually asked the Dursleys for anything, he'd been shut in his cupboard for a week with nothing but bread and water. It had been a pretty miserable week. Harry knew that he's probably get the notepad, but part of him was afraid of asking, in case the Dursleys started treating him badly again. Harry looked down at the new clothes he was wearing, and tried to tell himself that he really didn't have anything to worry about.

Aunt Petunia was sitting in the living room watching a decorating program, when Harry appeared in the doorway, fidgeting nervously with the bottom of his t-shirt.

"Aunt Petunia, I was just wondering if it would be alright to have an A4 notebook, to take notes for school. I'm running low on parchment."

"Yes, I don't see why not, I'll get you one when I'm in town today, I have to go and pick up a few things for dinner anyway. Help yourself to some cereal from the kitchen, and some orange juice too."

Harry smiled slightly, and left to make himself some breakfast. Still weird. When he looked out of the window and into the back garden, he remembered that he still had Shara's live mouse upstairs in his room, so he quickly ran back upstairs to retrieve it. He also grabbed his jacket to hide the box.. His Aunt gave him a strange look, but he just shrugged and carried on making his breakfast. Once he was done, he carried his bowl, glass and jacket over to the back door, and then paused.

"I'm just going to eat outside since the rain's stopped Aunt Petunia. I have to go and see Professor Dumbledore at ten, but he sent a portkey so I'll just leave from my room." _After all, she is being nicer. I should too._

"That's fine Harry, just watch your time," Aunt Petunia answered.

Harry made his way down to the bottom of the garden, keeping a sharp eye on the bushes in the corner. He sat on a rock that was relatively dry. He'd sneaked some cornflakes into the box that the mouse was in, and judging by the crunching from Harry's left pocket, the mouse was enjoying the treat.

"_Shara?"_

"_Harry!" _came the reply. It sounded as though Shara was at the back of the bush, and judging by the rain that morning, it was the smartest place to be.

"_Harry! Ah there you are. I was just about to move... my bush is soggy."_

"_In that case I'm glad I came to see you. I brought your mouse too."_

Shara slithered out of her hidey hole and started playing at Harry's feet, winding her way around his legs, all the while singing about her new 'mousey' and about how grateful she was, and how tasty it would be.

"_Mousey mousey come to me, a tasty meal you shall be, if you're fast, or if you're slow, I'll gobble you up, and swallow you whole!"_

"_I have a suggestion for a rhyme Shara," _said Harry, eyes twinkling as he laughed.

"_Ooh, I'm always looking for new rhymes. What is it?" _Shara had stopped her dance and was now curled up, with her head tilted towards Harry in curiosity.

"_How about this; mice, mice, they taste so nice, sweet or sour, with a side of rice!"_

"_Sweet and sour, with a side of… rice?" _repeated Shara, slowly and carefully.

Harry creased up with laughter, while Shara looked on with confusion.

"_I don't understand Harry, what is so funny?"_

Harry stopped laughing as he realised the difficulties in explaining his rhyme to a garden snake.

"_Sweet and sour are different tastes that humans experience, and rice is a food that humans eat, I'm sorry, I should have thought about that."_

"_Never mind Harry, you will get better. Now about this mouse!"_

Harry set the mouse free on the ground and watched as it tentatively took a few steps on the grass.

_"One... two... three... I'm coming to get you little mousey!"_

As soon as the mouse saw Shara, it took off down the garden with a green streak following after it. It didn't take long for Shara to catch the mouse, and she did indeed swallow it whole. Harry decided that it was both a gruesome and fascinating sight.

_"Shara, I have to go soon, I have to go and see Professor Dumbledore at Hogwarts. He sent me a portkey set for ten o'clock. You remember Professor Dumbledore right?"_

_"Yes of course I do, he's the headmaster of Hogwarts."_

Just then, Hedwig flew down from behind a nearby tree and settled on Harry's shoulder.

"Oh good Hedwig, you're safe. I was worried about you, that was one nasty storm." Hedwig gave an indignant hoot, and ruffled her feathers, as if the mere thought of anything happening to her was ridiculous.

"Hedwig, this is Shara, she's my new friend that I told you about. She said thanks for the mice! _Shara, this is Hedwig my owl. She's really smart, she brought those extra mice for you."_

_"Hello Hedwig, those mice were tasty. Were they field mice? They had that unique taste... tasty, tasty mice!"_

"Hoot," and a bob of the head.

_"I thought so! You clever owl! I like you."_

Harry stared at Hedwig in amazement, he never knew that she could understand parseltongue. Then again, the more intelligent post owls were known to understand many languages, or else how could they understand instructions? Shara's hissing drew Harry from his thoughts.

_"Harry."_

_"Yes Shara?"_

_"You smell different. Still my Harry, just different. Nicer."_

_"Thanks Shara, I'll make sure I shower more often!" _said Harry, laughing.

_"Could I come to Hogwarts with you today? I want to see what it is like."_

Harry thought for a minute. It would be better if he asked the headmaster about Shara staying there first, instead of having to sneak to see her all the time. He was sure that the old professor wouldn't mind, after all Shara was harmless. Harry had come up with a plan too, and the headmaster should at least know about that. He didn't really want to involve Professor Dumbledore, but knew that for his plan to work as effectively as possible, he needed the old man's help. That didn't mean that Harry fully trusted him. It would take a huge act of faith on Dumbledore's part to restore the trust that he had previously held for him.

_"Yes Shara, you can come. It's time for us to go, so can you curl up in my jacket so that my Aunt Petunia won't see you please?"_

_"Ok Harry."_

With Hedwig on his shoulder, and Shara wrapped in his jacket, Harry made his way back upstairs and into his room, explaining on the way to his Aunt Petunia that he had to go now and that he thought bringing Hedwig in would be better than her flying round the house to get to his window. Aunt Petunia shouted goodbye up the stairs and then returned to whatever she had been doing before. Harry looked at his cracked alarm clock and saw that there were only two minutes left until the portkey activated so he grabbed it from his desk, made sure that Shara was ok, and waited. Soon he felt the horrible sensation of the portkey activating, and he closed his eyes until he landed painfully on his back in the middle of Dumbledore's office.

"Owww"

"Are you alright Harry? Gave me quite the scare, just then."

Harry opened his eyes to see Dumbledore bending down next to him, and peering at him over his half-moon glasses.

"Yes sir, I'm fine," Harry replied wearily, but Dumbledore didn't notice as his attention had been caught by a small green snake that seemed to be annoyed at Harry for some reason.

"_How could you do that to me Harry, you said it was 'just a portkey'! You could have told me before almost squashing me! Terrible thing to do to a friend. Almost made my skin shed early! Look, it's even started to flake. Now I look dirty!"_

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who was waiting patiently to see what Harry would do. Meanwhile, Shara had gotten herself more comfortable on Harry's chest, and was mercilessly berating Harry for his neglect.

"_Shara, wait! I wasn't supposed to land on my back, I was supposed to arrive standing up. This was the only way for you to come to Hogwarts today, I didn't mean to hurt you in any way."_

"_Oh Harry I understand, I don't like telling anyone about the things I'm bad at either. That doesn't solve my skin problem though!"_

"_Shara, this is Professor Dumbledore._ Professor, this is my friend Shara. I met her at the bottom of my Aunt's garden."

Dumbledore looked on in astonishment as Shara slithered off Harry, curled up next to the boy and then looked straight into his own eyes.

"Well this was unexpected! Hello Shara. Welcome to Hogwarts!"

To Harry's amusement, Shara bowed her head towards Dumbledore, and then turned round and looked at Harry as the old wizard collected himself.

"_For goodness sake Harry, get up off the floor, and closer to that fire over there! I can feel the heat from heeeeeerrrreee!" _Shara was doing a strange dance with her head that made Harry laugh.

"What did she say Harry? Fascinating…"

"Sir, she was just telling me to get up off the floor and move closer to the fire. I think she likes the look of your rug."

"By all means, tell her to make herself comfortable. I'd rather Shara used that area than Fudge; that's where he usually takes up residence."

"_Professor Dumbledore doesn't mind if you curl up on that rug next to the fire, I have to talk to him anyway, so just come over when you've had enough, alright?"_

There was no reply, for as soon as Shara understood that it would be ok, she was off towards the fire, and curled up before Harry had even finished speaking.

"Come along Harry, there is much to discuss, as I told you in my letter last night. About that quill; when I went to see Fudge about the support department for families of muggleborns, or magical children placed with muggles, I was given this quill while I was waiting, and told in no uncertain terms that nothing would be done until Voldemort was dead, because Fudge didn't want to create another reason for the ministry building to be targeted. No Harry... wait, hear me out now - I suspect that in this instance, Fudge may be correct, but for the wrong reasons.

"The wizarding world is not ready for such a department at this time. I fear that creating such a department would segregate the community further, instead of bringing it together. Many neutral families would have to choose a side, they would either support Voldemort by condemning the decision, or they would be targeted by Voldemort for either supporting the decision, or standing by and letting it happen. Such a step can only be taken when Voldemort is dead, and the people of our world can speak freely of their beliefs without fear of reprisal of the most horrible form. Also remember that this break will give Miss Granger a chance to finish school and plan it all in that brilliant mind of hers. After all, she is muggleborn herself and would therefore know what is needed."

"I think we'd have trouble keeping her away sir," Harry said with a smile. He understood what Professor Dumbledore was saying, and could see how there may be problems. Harry was disappointed, but tried not to let it show.

"Now, on to other matters. There are two things that I brought you here to discuss today. Would you like to ask your questions before, or afterwards?"

"Could I possibly ask them beforehand? There aren't many, but there are two main ones," said Harry, surprised at the difference in how he was being treated. He actually felt that he was helping in some way by being more involved like this. Harry decided he'd made the right decision about coming to the headmaster with his plan first. "I also have a plan that involves my newest friend that I think you will approve of, and I'm the only person that can do it," he added, with a significant glance to where Shara was sleeping soundly in front of the fire.

"I would indeed be very interested as to why your new friend arrived with you," replied Dumbledore. "Now," he continued, steepling his fingers. "What were the questions you wanted to ask?"

"My main question is the one I asked in my letter to you; if my magic protects against Death Eaters, then why didn't it help me at the ministry?" Harry leaned forward in his seat, as he really wanted the answer to this question.

"Harry, you must understand that I do not have the answer to everything, especially concerning your… shall we say, _unique,_ link with magic. Everything I have told you so far concerning your magic has been speculation on what _probably_ happened. I do, however, have a theory as to why your magic hasn't stepped in on your behalf more frequently. Magic was seen as something to be ashamed of in the Dursley household if I'm not mistaken. When you were younger, you didn't understand this, and therefore your magic manifested itself when it felt that you were in danger. As you grew older, accidental magic occurred less frequently, am I correct?" Harry nodded, listening intently.

"This may be because your magic sensed that it was causing you trouble. Therefore, it may have blocked itself. The only way to check this is for you to learn Occlumency, which would teach you not only how to block your mind from Voldemort, but it would also teach you how to organise your mind, and help you with power control, as you would be able to sense your magical centre. Also, it would allow you to see things the have come to past in a more... subjective light."

Harry guiltily looked down at his feet at the mention of Occlumency.

"As we have already discussed, I was just as much at fault. If you'd have known why you were being taught, you might have wanted to learn quicker, but that is neither here nor there. What is done is done, Harry. Always remember that. You cannot change the past, but the future is ours to do with as we wish. That is why I shall take the time to teach you Occlumency myself, instead of entrusting the task to Professor Snape. I had rather hoped that he could overcome his animosity long enough for him to realise that you are not your father, but alas…" Dumbledore shook his head sadly, and Harry realised that underneath the powerful and omnipotent exterior, there was a normal old man underneath. His childlike vision of Dumbledore was just that, childlike. Harry couldn't blame Dumbledore for making mistakes, he'd made plenty of his own and people understood that mistakes are a part of life, and instead of judging him for it, they were helping him overcome those mistakes.

"Thanks for teaching me Professor, I know you're awfully busy, but to be honest it's probably better this way. I like Professor Snape just as much as he likes me, to say the least."

"We'll see Harry. Sometimes it is our need to prove ourselves to our enemies that furthers our minds the most, but you will understand that one day I'm sure."

"I already understand that sir, but I find that the advancements made in anger or spite are often the worst ones to make," said Harry. Dumbledore removed his glasses and looked at Harry speculatively.

"You know Harry, you never cease to amaze, and coming from a very old man – no, I'm not telling you how old – that is a rare thing. Your perception of the world has changed a lot, and for the better I would say. Children tend to live in fantasy, and forget that the world that they will grow into is vastly different from what they have been shown. I believe you had another question? There are still a couple of unpleasant matters to discuss, but you have been forewarned. Tea is in order, don't you think? Sherbet Lemon?"

"Er, yes please and no thank you, I wouldn't want you to tear your robes again on my account, sir. Although that was funny." Dumbledore chuckled.

"I have to admit, it was a lot funnier when I reviewed the days events last night. Embarrassing at the time though." Harry and Dumbledore both laughed.

"Professor, I was going to ask if you knew how I could call on the lightning, but I think now I should ask if there's anything I should do before school starts, to help with learning Occlumency. The next time I'm in that sort of situation I'd like to be able to control it, and from what you've said, Occlumency is the only thing that can help," asked Harry nervously. He hoped that Professor Dumbledore could tell him more than 'clear your mind'. Harry still hadn't gotten around to sending off his owl order since there had been so many other letters, and he didn't want to tire Hedwig out.

"Quite right Harry, I'm glad that you're taking this discussion seriously, and thinking things through as we talk. The main 'trick' shall we say, is to think of something that calms you, something that you can identify with, that feels like no other feeling, and then lose yourself in that feeling. That is the most basic form of Occlumency, and it allows your mind to relax. By continually bringing your mind to that state of relaxation, it opens up other channels that help you to meditate properly and then you can start building your defences, which will hopefully keep Voldemort at bay, or at least reduce the effects of your connection to him. What's the matter Harry?" Harry's face had gone from understanding to anger and back again throughout Dumbledore's explanation.

"Snape-"

"Professor Snape, Harry."

"Sorry sir. Professor Snape didn't tell me any of that, all he told me was 'clear your mind' and then he attacked it. If anything my head felt worse afterwards, and I could never concentrate properly the next day." Dumbledore's eyes had lost their trademark sparkle, and he seemed to age a few years as he gave a heavy sigh.

"Oh Harry, I wish you had told me. Although, I didn't really give you much of a chance to... If I had known how your mind was being treated I would have ceased those lessons straight away, and I would have started teaching you myself, no matter what the dangers may have been. As we now know, it is a lot more dangerous for you not to know Occlumency, and if Voldemort tries to use you to attack me, rest assured I will only stun you. Do not forget that help is always near, now more than ever. I thought I would be doing both yourself and Professor Snape a favour by pairing you up, but it seems that his animosity runs a lot deeper than I thought... stubborn, that one. I remember Madame Pomfrey had to chain him to one of the beds once... ahem, but I digress. Find that feeling that I spoke of, and lose yourself in it every night before you sleep and if you have a spare hour during the day. I know that seems like a long time, but time flies when you're having fun!"

"Yes sir. I've marked down a book that Hermione recommended, by Proctus Penwright, but I haven't had the chance to send the order. If I send it tomorrow I should have the book by Wednesday, and I'll read that."

"It is indeed a good read Harry, if I remember correctly it gives a fascinating insight on how the magical mind works."

"Are magical minds different from muggle minds then?"

"Oh yes, a witch or wizard's mind is very complex indeed compared to a muggle, as their innate magic is interwoven into their neural pathways, which is why some witches and wizards have abilities that others don't."

"I think I understand sir. Would that mean that the failed killing curse from Voldemort changed some of the magical aspects of my brain, so that I inherited his parseltongue ability? Oh, and is that why potions can be used to tell whether or not someone is an animagus?"

"Precisely, on both counts Harry..." Dumbledore slowly stood up from his chair, and walked around his desk. He gestured for Harry to stand, and scrutinised him before speaking.

"Harry, is there something you wish to tell me?" Dumbledore was watching Harry closely, which made him feel more than a little nervous.

"No sir, but I'm guessing you have something in mind."

"Since I saw you last, you've grown taller and you look a lot healthier if I do say so myself. Your understanding has also improved dramatically... Now what could have brought on those changes?..."

"To be honest, I hadn't noticed any of that sir. I have no idea."

Just then, there was a _tap tap tap_ on the door to Dumbledore's office.

"Do excuse me Harry, I'm not expecting anyone so I'm not sure who this could be, but hopefully whatever it is, it wont take long."

Harry thought he recognised that tapping sound from somewhere, but couldn't remember when or what it was.

Dumbledore walked the short distance to his office door, glancing over in Shara's direction briefly. The little snake was staring at the door, flicking her tongue in an alert manner. When Dumbledore opened it, he was shocked to see none other than his own pet phoenix staring back at him! He was even more shocked when Harry suddenly burst out laughing, almost gasping for breath as he tried to speak.

"Sorry sir, that's my fault, Fawkes surprised me yesterday and I fell off my chair. I banged my head pretty badly but I'm alright, Fawkes healed me straight away. After that he started tapping on my bedroom door instead! I didn't think he'd do it wherever I went!" Harry started laughing properly again, until he was brought to his senses by Shara slithering up his leg."

_"Harry we need to speak."_

"Professor, would you mind if I talked to Shara? She says she needs to speak to me."

"No, no, go ahead Harry..." replied Dumbledore distantly, watching bemusedly as Fawkes settled himself amongst some ministry papers he had been putting off reading, and started staring at Harry.

_"What's the matter Shara?"_

_"Harry, you smell like the firebird."_

_"Well, Fawkes did heal me yesterday, so maybe that's what you're smelling."_

_"No Harry, that's not it. He did more than heal you yesterday."_

_"What do you mean? I don't understand."_

Shara slithered down onto the floor, then up onto the desk, until she was a couple of feet from Fawkes. She then flicked her tongue a few times, and turned to Harry.

_"Harry, from what I can smell, Fawkes is your brother."_

Harry looked towards Dumbledore, and the shock must have shown on his face, as Dumbledore immediately strode towards Harry.

"What is it Harry?"

"Sir, I think all four of us should sit down and try to figure this out," replied Harry slowly, as he looked at Fawkes.

Dumbledore took the seat behind his desk, and Harry sat down in the chair he had previously occupied. Shara slithered onto his lap, and Fawkes hopped onto a clearer part of the desk with his head bowed. Harry spoke first.

"Sir, Shara has just informed me that I smell like Fawkes, and that I smell like his brother. I'm not quite sure what to think. I know that Fawkes healed me yesterday because there was blood around where the cut used to be, but no pain, and no cut. I was knocked out though."

Dumbledore was gobsmacked. He stuttered, and then raised his hands, palms upwards, and sat back in his chair. He was truly at a loss, for the first time that century.

_/Gentlemen, if you would let me explain... Your confusion is so great, that it is beginning to cause a noticable ache./_

Harry and Dumbledore both looked at each other with matching expressions of confusion.

_/Ouch./_

(A/N: Sorry about the long wait, we're moving at the end of the month and my little boy was ill so I haven't had much time to write and edit this chapter. By the looks of things, this is going to be one very long fic!)


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